


Marichat May 2019 - Red String of Fate

by Writers_Muse



Series: Themed Month-Long Series [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Akuma Battle, Angst, Chat Noir Being Chat Noir, Chat Noir Needs A Hug, Chat Noir To The Rescue, Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng Fluff, Costume Parties & Masquerades, Couch Cuddles, F/M, Flirty Chat Noir, Fluff and Angst, Ice Skating, Identity Issues, Identity Reveal, Jealous Adrien Agreste, Jealous Chat Noir, Let's get this party started, Light Angst, Marichat, Marichat May, Marichat May 2019, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Identity Reveal, Mask Ball, Masquerade, Meeting the Parents, Oblivious Chat Noir, Oblivious Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Platonic Cuddling, Protective Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Secret Identity, Shenanigans, Skating, These Oblivious Idiots, catching feelings, cuteness, one-sided identity reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2020-02-15 20:16:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 35,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18676690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writers_Muse/pseuds/Writers_Muse
Summary: Marichat May 2019A series of most likely connected chapters/drabbles about the wonderful Marichat shipSurprise bonus chapter! How Marinette (and Adrien) deal with Lila.NEW UPDATE- EPILOGUE





	1. Just My Luck

**Author's Note:**

> Day 1: No Powers
> 
> Marinette is inconveniently (and, unluckily) unable to recharge Tikki after her transformation wears out. What's a vulnerable civilian girl to do?

“ _Shit shit shit shit shit shit!_ ”

Marinette squeezed her eyes shut, ducking under some sort of low-hanging canopy, hoping the very real akuma dragon didn’t see her.  Wasn’t she supposed to be the lucky one? How did this even end up happening?

Though, to be fair, she supposed her legendary luck had to run out eventually.  Just, she always hoped it wouldn’t be _when she needed it most_.

Yet here she was, trapped under a half-collapsed overhang, with no powers.

If only she wasn’t in such a hurry to dash out of the house this morning, she might have remembered something incredibly important.

Something like, oh, I don’t know, _cookies for her kwami._

Exhaling a breath, the partially-singed noirette whispered a curse, eyes darting around as she searched for a way out of this situation, and a possible location for some emergency cookies.

That was when she realized there was a small shop across the street, and it looked like they probably had a selection of cookies for her exhausted and famished kwami.  One more quick scan of the sky, and she took off at a sprint across the road, catching the sound of a shriek and the swoop of enormous wings just before flames were licking around her ankles, and something heavy slammed into her with a grunt, knocking her through the window of the shop and shattering it to pieces.

With a groan, Marinette sat up, hand reaching reflexively to gingerly cradle her aching skull.  A wetness met her fingers, and, drawing her hand away, she realized they were red with blood, most likely from a gash, just above her eyebrow, if the sudden, intense stinging sensation was anything to go by.

Just then, she noticed a grunt beside her, as well as a blond, black-clad catboy, who was lying stomach down on the glass-littered floor beside her.  Placing his palms flat on the floor, he gradually began to raise himself up.

Chat Noir’s head swiveled slowly in her direction, piercing green eyes burning so intensely as they gazed at her that she gasped.

Oh, wait.  That was him.

Chat reached out carefully in the direction of the cut on her face, expression on his face genuinely horrified.

“Oh, shit. Princess. Are you ok?  I’m so sorry. I saw that thing aiming straight for you, and I didn’t think-”

“It’s ok, Chaton,” she said, wincing away from his surprisingly gentle claws.  “Thanks for making sure I didn’t become barbeque.”

The blond hero before her (her partner, but he didn’t know that) let out an incredulous laugh- breathy and amused, but still disbelieving at her humor given the situation.  Then it seemed a thought occurred to him, and his brow furrowed low over his eyes.

“What the hell are you doing here?  Are you trying to get yourself killed?  Why didn’t you evacuate with all the other civilians?”

 _Because I’m not a normal civilian_ , her brain helpfully supplied, but she couldn’t say that.

“I just- I got caught while you and Ladybug were fighting the akuma, so I hid while I waited for an opening, then I ran for it.”

After this farce of an explanation, she gulped, hoping he believed her lie.

Chat sighed, rising up from his position on all fours to a standing one and reaching down to pull her up by the hand.

“It’s probably best if you stay here until Ladybug comes back and we finish this,” he advised once she made it to her feet and slowly began heading toward the shop’s door, stubbornly looking back at her the entire way.  Then he stopped and raised a finger to point in her direction, saying in his best paternal voice, “ _Don’t_ move, and don’t even _think_ about coming out of here until I say it’s ok.”

Marinette grinned a bit too widely, nodding like an obedient child as she crossed her fingers behind her back.

“Whatever you say, Chaton.”

The boy in front of her narrowed his eyes as though unconvinced but finally, reluctantly, reached for the handle to open the door, only to be surprised it was locked.  He fumbled around for a second, trying to figure out how to unlock the door until Marinette cleared her throat. Startled, he looked up for a second and found her pointing off to the side.  When he followed the line of her finger, he realized she was pointing toward the busted window and promptly blushed deep crimson.

Gulping, he turned back toward the raven-haired girl.

“Uh… whatever you do, please don’t tell Ladybug about this.”

Deep inside, Marinette stuffed down the urge to burst out laughing.

“Don’t worry, kitty," she said, miming the action of zipping her lips.  "She won’t hear a word about it from me.”


	2. Body Like A God

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 2: Greek AU
> 
> Marinette and Chat Noir are once again caught in the crosshairs of a particularly odd akuma.

Marinette looked down at herself, startled at her transformation, then back up at Chat, who was looking very irritable not too far in front of her.

“I thought I told you to stay away from akuma attacks,” he spat without any real heat, grasping her in his arms and taking off at a run.  “Who the hell are you supposed to be, anyway?” he asked, panting slightly as he raced away from the center of the battle. “Cleopatra?”

The girl in his arms frowned disapprovingly, eyes glancing down to take in the white toga covering her body.  What was up with these akumas lately?

“Cleopatra ruled _Egypt_ ,” she retorted, glaring at the boy in the leather catsuit who was currently carrying her halfway across Paris.  It was going to take her extra long now to get back to the fight.

He didn’t even pause in his movements as he grinned.

“True, but she was descended from Ptolemy, a Grecian,” he responded, not missing a beat.

Marinette rolled her eyes, muttering under her breath, “Know it all.”

They had just made it a few blocks away from the battle when, out of nowhere, the akuma appeared out in front of them, causing Chat to practically skid on his heels as he tried to stop their forward acceleration.  Then there was a flash of white, a notoriously evil cackle, and Chat suddenly looked… a little less like cat.

“Now who doesn’t know the difference between Egypt and Greece,” Marinette couldn’t resist teasing, voice childishly mocking.

“Not now, princess,” he scolded her, turning instantly in another direction and skip-hopping up a few canopies, overhangs, and balconies until he made it on top of a roof a few blocks away, setting her down briefly when they reached the top.

“What’s the point of his power, anyway?” Marinette asked, very irritated with how inconvenient this whole affair was, but Chat didn’t respond.  The akumatized boy failed a World History test, so now he was, what, punishing everyone because he didn’t know the difference between Greece and Egypt?  Not that putting people in togas _wasn’t_ a punishment fashion-wise, but it was hardly a dangerous ability- mostly just annoying.

She stood back, arms crossed over her chest, as she watched Chat, amused by his flustered state.  His hands grasped fruitlessly around his new outfit in search of his metal baton, coming up empty.  She could tell he was embarrassed as his cheeks began to flush red, and he raised his gaze, eyes darting about almost desperately in search of his iconic tool.

Only, as she watched him, taking in all the details of his new wardrobe (for fashion purposes, of course), she realized how few details there were to observe.  It was, after all, a very… _small_ outfit, more Egyptian than Greek in style, only a skirt instead of a full-body toga.  His face was still covered by a mask, and his ears were still visible atop his head, but there were golden cuffs around his wrists, and his usual boots were suddenly sandals.  Where the collar of his suit would normally be, there was a black choker, his bell hanging teasingly at the center.

The majority of his body, though, especially his torso, was bare.  It only took Marinette a few seconds to notice how chiseled and Greek god-like Chat’s body was.  Gulping, she was surprised to find that her mouth was dry, her face hot, and she absentmindedly raised a hand to fan herself, doing her best to look away but finding herself incapable of mustering the will.

While she helplessly stared, Chat continued to look increasingly rapidly around, muttering to himself.  Finally, his attention fell on her as he grabbed her wrist, pulling her toward the edge with one hand and reaching down to lift her in a princess carry with other.  But neither of them actually made it to the edge. Because, when he looked up at Marinette’s face, he noticed two things: first, that she was blushing deep crimson, and second, that her eyes were distinctly glued to his chest and abs.

Cheeks tinged pink and one arm extended, he hesitated a fraction of a second, but it was enough for the girl currently ogling him to tear her eyes away from the sight of his muscles and meet his gaze.  Realizing she had been caught, her flush increased even more, and she began stammering an apology.

“I- I- I’m s- sorry, Ch- Chat Noir,” and as she stuttered, she averted her eyes, avoiding both his own searching gaze and his distracting physique.  “Were you, uh, were you saying something?”

Lopsided smile in place, Chat picked his jaw up off the floor.

If he were Adrien then, he probably would have simply let it go.

But, as luck would have it, he _wasn’t_ Adrien just then.

He was Chat Noir.

And the day Chat Noir passed on something like that, was the day Chat Noir was no longer Chat Noir.

“Princess-” he breathed, amusement ringing clear in his voice, “are you _checking me out?_ ”

Apparently it was the wrong thing to say- or the right thing, depending how you look at it, because in that moment, Marinette was clenching her tiny fists at her sides, arms ramrod straight and stiffly tensed at the shoulders.  Her brow furrowed in a way that Chat could only ever describe as adorable, hEr nose scrunching up in affront and embarrassment as she prepared to let him have it.

“Chat!  Don’t you think a hero of Paris has better things to do than ask girls if they like his body?!”

Too entertained to respond, he simply stood there in silence, waiting with an increasingly difficult to suppress grin growing on his face as Marinette’s pink cheeks and wrinkled button nose made his heart do little flips inside of his toned chest.

“Well, don’t just stand there, Chaton!  You have an akuma to fight!”

Then she lifted one arm above her head, wrist bent as she twirled a finger in the direction where they last saw the akuma and looked at him expectantly.

Crooked grin still in place, Chat slowly nodded, then sauntered up to the flustered girl, who backed away just a few steps as a result.  Leaning in with only a few centimeters left separating their faces, Chat took in her features, the blueness of her eyes striking him like a bolt of lightning.

Slowly, he let his eyes travel down her body, following the line of her exposed shoulders, the toga hanging just slightly loosely on her form, then back up to her scarlet red face.  She stared back at him with wide eyes.

“Y- you know, Ladybug w-will be w- wondering where you are,” she said when he had looked his fill, voice much lower than it was a minute before.

Chat’s grin grew to cover the rest of his face, and he turned wordlessly to head to the other side of the roof.

Just before he leaped off the side, he looked back at the still-ruffled girl and gave her a salute.

“That’s a good look for you,” he said, then, faster than she could blink, he crouched and bounded onto another rooftop, disappearing out of view quickly after that.

Marinette stood there for a second, her heart racing inexplicably as she felt her palms sweat.

“That mangy cat,” she muttered to herself, shaking her head to dispel the nervous energy.  And if she took a little longer than usual once she made it back to purify the akuma because she was inconveniently hyper-aware of her partner’s very toned form, she would never admit it.


	3. We’re Having Kittens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 3: Kittens
> 
> Marinette finds that her partner slash friend is often lonely and decides to do something about it.

Marinette emerged up the trapdoor into her bedroom, then turned on the light.

As soon as she did, though, she jumped and half-screamed, startled by the sight of a catboy perched on her chaise, crossed-legged and waiting expectantly.  She raised a hand to her chest to calm her beating heart before resuming her trek closer to computer desk. Once she set her purse down on the chair, she turned back to face the slightly sheepish looking boy, finger pointed accusingly.

“I thought I told you not to scare me like that anymore.”

Chat had the good grace to look contrite.

“Sorry, princess.  It’s hard to tell sometimes when it’s really dark outside,” he explained, pointing a finger at his own eyes.  “Night vision.”

The girl simply rolled her eyes, grasping a small book from her desktop and lightly smacking him on the chest with it.

“When in doubt, turn on a lamp.  At least my parents won’t notice something so dim.”

Though amused, he nodded obediently.

“Now, then,” she said.  “What brings you here tonight, kitty?”

There was a moment of silence after her question, and Marinette turned from her position organizing her messy desk to look on the visage of her odd, newly-acquired friend.  After the last two times she ended up caught in an akuma battle, he had taken it upon himself to visit her and warn her once again to stay away from such situations. She didn’t argue, but then he sat down on the lounge chair of her rooftop terrace, and they ended up talking so long, that he fell asleep.  After that, she had a hard time turning him away, noticing that, whenever he was around, he nearly always ended up dozing off.

It didn’t take long for her to notice the subtle dark circles under his eyes, the exhaustion in his shoulders.  And then she _couldn’t_ turn him away. He had become such a common visitor to her rooftop, though, that she began to worry that someone might notice, so she asked him to always knock, and enter if no one answered, so he wouldn’t have to wait out on the balcony in the view of any passerby.

And now, as she looked him over, she could see the bags under his eyes, the way his smile didn’t reach all the way up, how his shoulders were tensely hunched up on either side of his head.  Even his tail was borderline lashing with anxiety.

“Spill it,” she commanded, and his shoulders slumped- in disappointment, in relief, or in some mixture of both.

“I was lonely,” he said, so lowly, she almost didn’t hear.

But she did.

She walked closer, reaching out a hand to rest on his shoulder, and he unconsciously leaned into her touch.

“Oh, Kitty,” she said in as soothing a voice as she could manage.  “Do you want to tell me about it?”

Now close enough to sit, she lowered herself to the chaise beside him, her hand sliding across his back to wrap around his shoulders and climb up his neck to bury itself in his golden hair.  It was a bit forward and intimate, but he responded as though it was just what he needed. Without hesitation, he nestled his head into her hand, his face coming to rest in the crook of her neck.

“It’s just… my house.  It’s so big. And so empty.  I’m always alone there, from the moment I wake up, to the moment I go to sleep.  My own father doesn’t even have time to see me without an appointment-” Marinette held in her gasp of indignation. “-and I feel like, no matter what I do, it’s never good enough.”

They sat there for a moment together, silent except for the sound of their breathing.  Finally, Marinette got up the courage to ask: “What would make things easier for you, Minou?”

Chat breathed out a mournful laugh.

“If my mother came back,” he said, more to himself than to her.

Marinette’s heart broke.

“Oh, Kitty,” she sighed, voice thick with suppressed tears, and pulled him into an embrace.  His arms wrapped around her middle, squeezing her tightly enough to surprise her. She stroked his hair comfortingly.  “Anytime you get lonely, I want you to come here. And if I’m not here, then you wait until I come back.”

“Ok,” he agreed, but his voice was so small, she wondered if it was possible to feel any more helpless than she did in that moment.  Right then, she knew she had to do something.

Chat pulled away, keeping his eyes down in embarrassment, and murmuring out a thanks.

“Anytime,” she said, because what else could she say?  And with that, he pulled up a hand to kiss the back of her knuckles- an act she didn’t resist for once- and made his way up the ladder to the trap door.  When he reached the top, he turned to look back at her.

“Thank you, Marinette,” he said again, his smile wobbly but genuine.  She smiled back as best she could through the hole in her chest.

“I’ll see you soon, kitty.”

And then he was gone, and Marinette found it hard to sleep that night, trying to think of ways to help her kitty feel a little less lonely.

The sun broke bright and early the next morning, but she had barely slept a wink.  Sometime in the wee hours of the morning, she had an idea, and spent the rest of the night trying to think of the best way to execute it.

For this reason, she found herself walking home a different way after school, searching for signs of her overgrown cat.

But she found not a trace, and with slightly a dejected frown, she turned toward home, only to stumble into a black-clad figure directly in front of her.  Surprised she drew back, looking around warily as passersby began to notice how one of Paris’ heroes was stopping to talk to a civilian girl.

So distracted was she, that she didn’t notice Chat was hiding anything until he pulled out a rose from behind his back, a single red rose, and held it out to her, smiling softly.

“For you, princess,” he said quietly enough that the interested onlookers wouldn’t hear.

Marinette stood there for a second, jaw hanging low in surprise, before hastily taking the rose, her cheeks turning bright red.

“ _Chat_ ,” she whispered urgently, “ _I appreciate the thought, but don’t you know a single red rose means one true love?_ ”

Chat paled for a second, his eyes darting around as though looking for an answer.  Marinette took pity on him, raising a hand to his arm and leaning forward to kiss him lightly on the cheek.

“Thank you, Chaton,” she said, not wanting him to feel guilty or embarrassed for the kind gesture.  “I’m really glad to have a friend like you.”

Chat visibly relaxed, the tension in his shoulders disappearing as he smiled back.

“Actually, I have a surprise for you,” she said, trying to keep her voice down to avoid being heard.  “But, uh, maybe we should talk about this somewhere else,” she cautioned and took him arm to lead him away from prying eyes.

Chat’s excited grin greeted her vision.

“A surprise for me?” he asked as though he couldn’t believe it.

Marinette simply nodded, warmth welling up in her chest at the look of absolute wonder on his face.

“I was thinking,” she began, “if you’re always home alone, it wouldn’t hurt if you had a companion of sorts.”

Chat peered back at her quizzically, and she sighed.

“A pet, Chaton.  I was thinking I wanted to get you a pet cat.  You being sort-of a cat, and all.”

The blond’s eyes blew wide, pupils dilated, and he suddenly squealed, crying way too loudly:

“WE’RE HAVING KITTENS?!”

It was astounding how quickly the girl beside him blanched, then turned crimson as the people around them watched in shock, a dozen or more mouths hanging open at Chat’s outburst, the distinct click of cameraphone shutters audible.  Nervously, she looked around at the spectacle they had made.

Suddenly realizing what he said, Chat’s face did something similar, and he reached out immediately to grab her hand, pulling her at a breakneck speed into the closest alleyway before launching them to the roof of the building.

“Really, Chaton?  You think _that’s_ not going to make them any more convinced I’m carrying your illegitimate offspring?”

The boy across from her gave her a sheepish look.

“Sorry?”


	4. We’re Going To Be All Right

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 4: Birthday
> 
> Alya is curious about what Marinette has been hiding, and Chat comes to apologize.

In retrospect, she really shouldn’t have been surprised when Alya screamed into Marinette’s ear that night, shrieking in excitement and demanding to know what the hell was going on.  She was so loud that the girl had to pull the phone away from her ear to put some space between the speaker and her eardrum.

“ _OH MY GOD!!! MARINETTE!!_ ”

Said girl winced at the volume, sincerely regretting answering this phone call.

She really should have known better.

“Alya, it’s not-”

“Oh my God, Marinette!” the redhead cut her off.  “You and Chat Noir are A THING!”

The noirette visibly slumped, expression deadpan.

“We are not a thing, Alya.  That was a misunderstanding taken out of context, and-”

“Girl, how dumb do you think I am?  I know you’re not having anyone’s kittens,” her friend interrupted again.  “But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a little something else going on, and I expect to hear all about it~”

Marinette rolled her eyes, turning in her place standing on the rooftop of her room.  She had spent the better part of the evening convincing her parents she wasn’t A) in a relationship with a masked superhero in a leather catsuit, or B) about to give birth to his kittens anytime in the near, or even distant future.

Alya was still speaking on the other end of the line.

“I swear, this is better than my _birthday_ , it’s better than CHRISTMAS! _Christmas_ , Marinette!  This is somehow better than the season of joy and giving and spiked eggnog and mistletoe!”

The raven-haired girl sighed deeply, gaze directed out to the horizon as she pondered what she could possibly say to convince her friend there was really, absolutely _nothing_ going on between her and-

“Chat,” she thoughtlessly blurted, surprised by the sudden appearance of the very boy right in front of her.

“Uh, _yeah_ ,” her friend continued, but Marinette barely heard her.  “Have you seen that boy’s body? It’s to die for-”

“Good evening, _purr_ -incess,” he greeted, and then there was a shriek in her ear.

 _Shit_.

“Oh. My. GOD.  Is he there?! I heard him!”

Without warning, Marinette hung up the call, praying to any god in existence that it didn’t immediately start ringing.  To her relief, instead of a call, there was a message notification, and she glanced down to check it.

_We are SO talking about this later_

Marinette let out another sigh, setting the phone down as the boy in front of her watched apologetically.

“Did I get you in trouble?” he asked, voice and expression contrite.

The look she gave him was deadpan.

“Oh, I don’t know, do ya think?” she asked in a sarcastic tone, and he winced.  “I spent the better part of this evening trying to convince my parents I’m not secretly hooking up with a boy in leather, so, yeah, a little bit.”  Her arms crossed over her chest, and she saw Chat cringe.

“Should I be concerned your dad is going to climb up here any second and crush me in his bare hands?”

She paused for a minute, letting his fear marinate briefly before answering.

“No,” she said begrudgingly.  “They eventually believed me. I may or may not have had to take a pregnancy test, though, and very soon I’m going to start taking birth control as ‘a precaution,” she added, putting up her fingers to signal air quotes.

Chat continued to look apologetic, lopsided grimace on his face.

“I really am so sorry, princess.  I actually came over here to apologize and tell you, I’ll find a way to fix this.  Please, I’ll just- I don’t know, but I’ve got to _do something_.”

“It’s all right, Chat,” she said dejectedly.  “The damage is done, more or less. Anything we do to try to fix the situation will probably just make it worse.  Just… maybe don’t approach me in public anymore? I would hate to add fuel to the fire. Not to mention, I’m going to have to start being careful about going out for a few days.  I’m more than a little afraid of your fangirls following me around. It’s only been half a day, and they’re already posting threatening comments about me online.”

Chat’s entire demeanor drooped, and he looked down at his hands, which were fidgeting with each other in front of him.

“I really am sorry.”

There was a short silence.  Then:

“It’s ok,” Marinette offered, able to see how truly sorry he was.  He made a thoughtless mistake, and there was no way he could have known it would turn out like _this_.  Hoping to comfort him, she raised a hand to his arm, causing him to look up, startled by the gesture.  “But… there’s something else.”

The cat-themed hero waited, eyes wide.

“My parents said they want to meet you,” she finally said, grimacing.

All the color drained from Chat’s face, and his jaw hung open in a wordless gape.

“They just want to meet you!” Marinette tried to reassure him.  “I think I convinced them we’re not actually seeing each other like… _that_.”  She looked away, blushing and embarrassed.  “But there was no way I could get out of them knowing that we’re friends.  And they know now you’ve been stopping by on occasion, which may or may not have gotten me in a little bit of trouble.  But, if you’re going to keep coming around, then they want to meet you, and they want to know when you’re here.”

Pink tinged Chat’s cheeks, and a slow, gentle smile spread over his face.

“You mean, I can keep coming to visit you?”

There was such hope in his eyes, it nearly split Marinette’s heart in two.

“Of _course_ you can, Chaton,” she answered, voice cracking slightly.  “This doesn’t mean we can’t be friends anymore.”

The moisture developing in the boy’s eyes surprised her.  Ashamed of his response, he looked down at his feet, toeing the floor of the roof.

“Hey- Chaton-” she tried, grabbing both his arm and stepping closer in an effort to get him to look up.  “You’re my friend, and that’s not something I’m going to quit because we have an issue. That’s not what friends do.”

Then Chat’s entire body slumped forward, and he was half-draped over Marinette’s small frame. Surprised, she steeled herself against his weight, allowing him to wrap his arms around her middle as his face tucked into the curve of her shoulder.  Her own hands came up to comb through his hair, earning her a low purr, which startled them both. Shocked at his own reaction, Chat pulled back immediately, cheeks pink. To his surprise, she laughed, then reached out a hand.

“Come on, Kitty,” she said.  “It’s time to meet the parents.”

His hesitation was clear, but she waited patiently until he slowly accepted her hand.

“Don’t worry, Chaton.  I’ll be with you the entire time. You’re always safe with me.”


	5. Meet The Parents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 5: Baking
> 
> Chat Noir formally meets Tom and Sabine (again).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I got so behind on Marichat May! I just finished some finals last week, and I'm always really busy, but I'm going to try to catch up quickly. Thanks for sticking with me!

Chat trailed reluctantly behind Marinette as she ~~dragged~~ led him down the stairs to the main level of the apartment.  When they entered the kitchen, he noticed Tom and Sabine were focused on some baking.  Marinette cleared her throat, letting go of Chat’s hand suddenly as though she realized holding it might give off a certain impression.

“Maman.  Papa.” A tall, burly man with childlike, green eyes and a tiny woman with welcoming grey eyes looked up from their positions in front of the counter.  “Chat is here.”

Chat wasn’t sure, but he was fairly certain his soul left his body because his heart suddenly stopped beating.

In the next second, the pair of green eyes across from him crinkled into a smile, and two very muscular-looking arms spread out wide as Tom started to approach him.

“Chat Noir!  It’s good to see you again, son,” he began, but stopped in his step almost as soon as he moved, gaze flickering back and forth between his doughy hands before turning with slightly pink cheeks to the sink.

Sabine gave him an equally warm smile as she dried her hands, having had the presence of mind to wash them while her husband was too absent-minded to immediately think of that.  With newly-dried arms, she reached out to pull the blond boy into a hug, surprising him and leaving him with a shocked expression.

“I’m so glad you could join us, Chat Noir,” she said, pulling back.  Chat looked back and forth between the Dupain-Chengs with wide eyes.

“Uh… p- pleasure to b- be here,” he managed, blushing.  

A small hand lightly grasped and gripped his own, startling him out of his embarrassed stammer.  He turned to look at the small girl beside him, and she gave him a reassuring nod.

“Maman, papa, Chat and I are friends, and I know you said you wanted to know when he is here, like _all_ my friends.”

As the blond stood there silently, Tom came to stand beside his wife, an arm wrapping around the slight woman’s shoulders.

“Of course!” the man’s loud voice boomed, almost jolly.  Chat thought, if he were wearing a red suit and had white hair, Tom would remind him a lot of Santa Claus.  Then, the part-giant’s face took on a more serious expression. “Sorry about that business with the akuma, Chat Noir.  I hope you don’t hold that against me.”

One side of the hero’s mouth quirked up in a nervous smile, and he laughed awkwardly.

“N- not in the least, M- Monsieur Dupain.  Don’t give it another thought.”

Then he swallowed, mentally adding, _please don’t snap me in half._

“Great!” Tom responded, face beaming once again as he pulled Sabine a little tighter against him.  “But, there is something we need to discuss before you continue seeing out little girl.”

“Papa!” Marinette reprimanded, frowning.

“Oh, relax, ma petit choupette,” Tom laughed.  “I know, I know, the two of you are ‘ _just friends,_ ’” he added, using those finger quotations Chat had seen Marinette pull out a time or two.  Something in his chest twisted a little at the memory. “But, in all seriousness, son, we just want you to know you’re always welcome in our home.  Not only are you a hero of Paris, but you’re Marinette’s friend, and that is enough in our book. Please, anytime, feel free to stop and and have some dinner with us.  We would be honored.”

Chat’s jaw dropped, and he looked back and forth between the two warm, caring adults in front of him.  Was this what it was like to be accepted without question? Glancing down at Marinette, still speechless, he realized the image of her was slightly blurred by tears beginning to well up in his eyes.

“Aww, Minou,” he heard, but didn’t really see, her say.  She placed a hand on his arm, and he ducked his head in embarrassment.  “Would you like to learn how to bake?” she asked then, on a whim.

Breathing out, Chat nodded, and Tom and Sabine stepped quietly to the side.

“We’ll take it from here, papa,” Marinette told her parents, and they simply looked on as the young pair washed their hands and took the places they previously inhabited.  

Tom watched, enrapt, as Marinette stood closely by Chat Noir, quietly giving him instructions on what to do and showing him how to knead the dough.  The sight of the hero in leather, black fingertips covered in gloves and wrist-deep in dough and flour, was something to behold. Then he felt a slight nudge on his arm, and he looked down to see Sabine motioning him to be quiet with a finger to her lips as she directed him off toward the sitting room.

“How long do you think until they realize how they feel about each other?” she whispered.

Tom narrowed his eyes.

“Six months,” he stated flatly.

His small wife appeared to think that over.

“No more than three,” she countered.

In response, her husband raised his eyebrows.

“Care to make it interesting, ma cherie?”

A somewhat frightening gleam entered Sabine’s eye, and she held up a hand.

“Fifty Euros and the dishes for a month,” she wagered.

Tom smirked mischievously, grasping her hand and shaking it with his own.

“You’re on.”


	6. The Lucky Ones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 6: Adoption/Family
> 
> Chat and Marinette cuddle up together- platonically, of course.

“We’ll be upstairs!” Marinette called, and her parents waved back.

“All right!” Tom answered.  “Just leave the door open!”

Marinette blushed, and her father’s laugh echoed up the stairs.  Once in her room, she preceded Chat to the chaise, plopping down on it and letting her arms flop outward, her eyes closed in tiredness and exasperation.  Slowly coming to sit beside her, Chat chuckled.

“Your parents are pretty great.  Your dad is a little intimidating because of his size, but he’s really funny.”

The raven-haired girl peeked one eye open to look at the blond masked boy in front of her.

“I think they’re ready to adopt you,” she blurted honestly.

Chat’s eyes widened, his jaw dropping in amused surprised as he let out a quiet guffaw.

“As much fun as that would be, princess, I’ve sort of already got a family.  Besides,” he added teasingly, “I couldn’t marry you if i was your brother, could I?”

He said it with a light tone, but Marinette could see the very real sadness in his eyes, the way his mouth spread just a little too wide, his teeth just a little too exposed to be genuine.  Without a thought, she scooted her body over until she was leaning against his arm, her fingers entwining with his own.

“P- princess?”

“You have me, too, Chat.  You know that, right? I mean, I know there are things you can’t tell me, but we’re friends, and for me, that’s the same thing.”

She had to tilt her head back then to look up at his face, and she was met with a gaping expression, cheeks pink.

“Thank you, mi- uh… princess,” he stammered, swallowing.  “Maybe black cats aren’t so unlucky after all.”

Marinette beamed at the way his eyes softened, the sadness in them disappearing and replaced with something much more pleasing.

In the back of his mind, Chat wondered why he almost called Marinette “my lady.”  He shook his head at the near-slip when she resumed her position leaning against his arm.  Doing his best not to jar her, he lifted the same arm and draped it behind her shoulders so that she was snuggled into his chest, leaning his cheek on top of her head as she wrapped an arm over his middle and tucked her knees up on the chaise.

“It’s ok, kitty,” she said.  He could practically hear the smile in her voice.  “I’ll make enough luck for both of us.”


	7. One Lucky Cat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 7: Roommates
> 
> Marinette dozes off while she and Chat watch a movie.

Marinette slumped against Chat’s shoulder, head nodding forward as she lost the fight against exhaustion.  The green-eyed boy looked fondly down at the girl beside him, heart stuttering in his ribcage at the way her dark lashes contrasted with her pale skin, her soft, pink lips almost shining in the light of the television screen.  Thoughtlessly, he reached up and tucked some of the hair out of her face with a claw, then adjusted her slowly to move her weight off of himself before rising and lifting her in his arms. He was surprised at just how light she really was.

Marinette mumbled a few noises, disturbed a bit by the movement.  Carefully, the black-clad hero climbed up her ladder and deposited her on her bed, pulling the blankets up over her shoulders and smiling down at her softly once again.  The low lamplight made her face glow and gave her hair a blue-ish halo.

“Chat?” she rasped sleepily, eyes still closed and brows furrowing in her half-unconscious state.

“Shh, princess.  Go back to sleep.  I have to go home now.”

Her eyelids twitched as thought trying to open, trying to wake themselves up before slowly, barely parting.

“You can stay here, if you want,” she managed, though her voice was low and somewhat slurred with sleep.

Chat let out a chuckle.

“No, princess, I can’t.  I’m sorry. I’ll see you soon,” he assured her, something clenching in his chest and making him wonder who needed more reassurance- her or him.

“Roommates,” she murmured.

“What?”

“Roommates.  We could be roommates, instead of siblings.  I bet my parents wouldn’t mind at all.”

The blond suppressed a laugh, watching as her eyes failed to stay open.

“I’m surprised you’d trust me to stay out of your stuff, princess.”

One corner of Marinette’s mouth quirked slightly.

“I trust you with my life, Chaton.”

Something niggled at the back of Chat’s mind, but he immediately pushed the thought away before it could even develop into anything coherent.  The girl’s features relaxed, and the boy couldn’t help but watch her for a moment before leaning down and placing a gentle kiss to her forehead.

“Whoever catches you someday will be the luckiest cat alive.”

And with that, the hero silently climbed the last few rungs to the trapdoor, and let himself out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry. I've beens super busy. Finally catching up on comments and hopefully on the prompts soon.
> 
> <3 Muse


	8. Just Between You And Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 8: Mittens For Kittens
> 
> Chat Noir forgets something important while baking.

“Oh, sh-!”

“Chat Noir!”

The blond whirled around, one hand hovering close in front of his face for inspection.  His carelessness as Chat Noir apparently transferred to even domestic activities as he grabbed a hot baking sheet straight out of the oven with no gloves.  It didn’t really hurt, though he could feel the heat on his fingertips, but it was more of a reflexive response to practically drop the sheet onto the stove top and check his hands for damage.  Luckily, of course, his suit was protected against many things, even mild burns.

Marinette watched, hands on her hips, as he looked back at her with a deer-in-the-headlights expression.

“Here,” she said at last, shaking her head at his thoughtlessness and moving toward a drawer near the oven.  Opening it she pulled something out and turned back to Chat. “Lift up your hands,” she ordered. 

Speechless, Chat complied.  As he watched, Marinette slid an oven mitt over each of his hands and gave him a pointed look.

Chat waited another second.

“Princess, are you giving me… mittens for kittens?”

A twinkle lit his eye at the pun, but it was met with a deadpan stare.  His did his best to look sheepish, but the amusement still lingered behind the smirk he couldn’t completely wipe off his face.

“Silly kitty,” she finally responded, hands returning to her hips.  “You know, you could end up hurting Plagg someday if you’re not careful.”

Chat blushed, turning back to the cookies that were sitting on the stove and moving them to the cooling rack.

“Should’ve never told you about Plagg,” he murmured to himself.

Marinette released an exasperated sigh.  Little did he know she knew about him anyway, and would have chastised him all the same.  She waited until his job was complete and he had taken off the mitts before grabbing one of his hands in her own.

“Come on, Chaton,” she said, hoping she didn’t hurt his feelings too much.  She knew how sensitive he was to disappointing others. “Let’s watch low budget films and eat too many cookies.”

The look he gave her, like the sun was suddenly shining out of his eyes, set her heart racing.

“Ok, princess,” he replied with a grin, extending one arm in the direction of the stairs and bowing slightly at the waist.  “Ladies first.”


	9. The Lines Blur

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 9: Ice Skating
> 
> Chat has a surprise for his princess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one’s a bit longer! If you like it, leave a comment 😊

“Marinette?”

Chat’s head popped down through the trapdoor, the majority of his body still perched on the rooftop terrace of her room.  It was already past sundown, and he had been itching to see her all day but decided it was best to wait until it was dark, when he could hide in the shadows on the way to her house.  God forbid anyone should catch him visiting her. Trying to beat that media scandal down a few weeks before had been absolute murder. Surely a sighting of him entering her bedroom would set new rumors ablaze.

“Marinette?” he called again, quieter this time as he peered into the dimness of her room.  It was impossible to see in the dark, but his brow furrowed at her lack of response, and at her lack of activity.  It wasn’t that late yet. She shouldn’t have been asleep.

But the shape hiding under the covers of her bed suggested otherwise.  Just when he was about to leave back the way he came, surprise be damned, he caught a tiny sniffle and a slight shudder under the blankets.  All thoughts of leaving fled his mind, and he dropped the rest of the way into the room, shutting the trapdoor quietly behind him.

“Princess?” he asked, trying to remain quiet, but unable to keep the worry out of his voice.  “Princess, I know you’re not sleeping. I can see _and_ hear you.”

His acute hearing caught a sigh as she realized there was no denying his point.  Slowly, she rolled over onto her back, and Chat squinted at her appearance. Despite having night vision, it could be difficult to make out specific details once the light was gone.  Without asking for permission, Chat reached over and turned on the nearby lamp, causing Marinette to squint her eyes from the sudden bright assault on her vision.

It wasn’t as bad as he was expecting, but it was clear that she had been crying, with a nose that was red at the tip, somewhat blotchy skin, and a bit of redness around the eyes.  Of course, the downcast expression on her face was also a giveaway.

“What happened.”

He didn’t even bother to phrase it like a question.  Something hurt his princess, and he wasn’t going to stop until he knew what.

Marinette diverted her gaze, electing to look away from the intensity of his eyes as they bored into her.  It hurt her a little, that depth of feeling, that hint of anger behind them.

“Nothing, Chat Noir, I’m just tired.”

With one finger tucked under her chin, he lifted her face and leaned closer.

“You can’t lie to me, princess.  I know you too well. And you never call me ‘Chat Noir’ unless you’re upset or very serious.”

She dropped her eyes again, this time in shame.  Of course he would figure her out. What else was she expecting?  No one really knew her as well as he did…

That thought made her gasp, and she pinched her eyes tightly shut.

“Hey, hey,” she heard him call, refusing to open her eyes and face him.  Then she felt a leather-covered finger tracing her face, softly caressing her hair, and butterfly kisses being peppered all over her brow.  “You can tell me _anything_ , Marinette.”

The girl’s eyes flew open, small tears still unshed.

“You never call me that.”

A fond smile touched Chat’s face.

“Only when I’m upset or very serious.”

She couldn’t help it- Marinette giggled a little.  Chat’s smile grew.

“Tell me, princess.  Tell me what’s wrong.”

There was no getting out of this, she could see.  Marinette sighed deeply, and Chat settled in more comfortably, turning to face the same direction as her and snuggling up close as he played with her hair, both their backs leaning against the head of the bed, Chat’s fingers running through her blue-black tresses.

“It’s just… there’s this boy I’ve liked for a while.”

Something burned in the blond’s chest, a sinking feeling in his stomach.

“And-” she continued, staring out at nothing, “-every day that passes, I just realize more and more that he’s never going to see me as more than a friend.”  Then her gaze fell to her own hands as her fingers fidgeted nervously. “This really isn’t something you want to know, Chat.”

Despite being a hero, Chat felt very helpless.  There was a deep sadness in Marinette’s voice, and it cut him to the core.  He hated to see someone he cherished so much feeling so low, but more than that even, for some reason he couldn’t explain, it bothered him that Marinette felt this way about someone.  He knew it was ridiculous, but part of him was jealous. Someone possessed his princess’s heart, and that made him want to yell in frustration.

But he kept those emotions from his face.

“Of course it is,” he lied.  “I always want to hear about anything you want to talk about.  Don’t you know that, Marinette?”

The raven-haired girl lifted her chin to see the green-eyed boy looking down at her, something unknowable burning behind his eyes.  Inexplicably, her eyes fell to his lips, but only momentarily. Her face flared immediately, and she turned her head back downward to shield her mortifying blush from his view.

“I want to show you something,” she heard.  “Will you go out with me?”

Marinette’s head flew back up, mouth open in shock as the rest of the blood in her body rushed to her cheeks.  A second later, it seemed Chat realized what he said. He lifted his arms in an expression of panic, eyes wide.

“No, no, no!  Princess! That’s not what I meant!”

The girl continued to stare.

“I mean!  I want to take you somewhere.  There was a reason I showed up tonight,” he tried to explain, his own face red with embarrassment.  But he pushed through, meeting her gaze unflinchingly. “Please.”

Chat lifted a hand, palm up, in invitation.  Marinette looked at it for a second, then back up at the bright green eyes across from her.

“Please, princess.  Trust me.”

Without another thought, Marinette placed her hand in his own.

* * *

“Ok, Chaton, where are we?” the noirette asked sometime later.  

It wasn’t exactly a cold night, but the air was chill nonetheless, and wherever they went was even colder.

“Just another minute, princess,” she heard in the blackness.  

She desperately wanted to tug off the blindfold Chat insisted she wear, but would not break his trust, or make him believe _she_ didn’t trust _him_.  Marinette shivered slightly, curling her arms around herself to stave off the chilly air.  Even in her sweater, it was cold.

“Just… wait right there,” Chat commanded, steadying her with his hand on her upper arms and then disappearing from her touch.

The sound of clicking and some other noises reached her ears, but she couldn’t tell what was going on.  It occurred to her that some lights were being turned on as the faintest of glows broke through around the edges of her blindfold.  Taking a deep breath, the girl exhaled as she waited.

Then, the scarf that had been wrapped around her eyes was suddenly gone, and after a few seconds to adjust to the light, she took in the scene around her.

It was the ice skating rink, and they were there alone.  Of course, it was after hours, and technically past the time most people were out and about on a weeknight.  

“Chat?” she asked, question clear.

The boy raised a hand to rub the back of his neck in a familiar gesture, but she dismissed that thought.

“I know you’re always joking about how clumsy you are, princess, but I happen to think you’re quite graceful.  I guess I just wanted to show you how graceful you can be.”

Marinette stared at her unwitting partner, jaw slightly agape.  Under the persistence of her gaze, he began to blush, diverting his eyes in something akin to shyness, if he was capable of it.

“Here.  I got you some skates in your size.  I’ll be right back.”

Then he disappeared in the direction of the restrooms, having handed her a pair of ice skates.  Still flustered, she sat down on one of the chairs and began to switch her shoes out for the skates, hoping the warmth she could feel in her cheeks would dissipate before he returned.

Just as she was finishing the laces, Chat came awkwardly back into the room.

“I, uh, I had to detranform for a second.  Sorry,” he told her, sheepish expression on his face.

It was then that the girl recognized his suit’s ice form, like when they fought frozer.  Instead of the boots, he had skates, which explained why he was walking that way. Marinette took a moment to look him over, unaware of the way he swallowed under her attention.  As her eyes reached his, she noticed that, though they were still green, they seemed to glow with almost a frosty luster, and she had to look away.

Her heart beat a little faster.

Marinette cleared her throat, unable to look up from the ground.

“I’m ready,” she said, voice small.

“Not yet you aren’t,” Chat replied, his skates coming into her low field of vision.

Surprised by something being draped on her, she abruptly raised her head to find him swathing her in the scarf.

“Now you are,” he announced, lips curved just barely on either end.  Then he turned to face the same direction as her, holding out a hand.  “Shall we, princess?”

Marinette's heart skipped a beat when she took his hand.

He led her out onto the ice, making sure to keep her between the wall and himself at first to help her feel more secure.  It quickly became evident that her nervousness was directly connected to her clumsiness, so he thought of a solution. Suddenly, he was in front of instead of beside her, holding both her hands as a look of panic overtook her face.

“Hey.  Do me a favor.  Look into my eyes, and don’t look anywhere else.”

Chat tried to hold her gaze with his own, but she squeezed her eyes shut, tripping as she did so.

“I can’t do it.”

“Please, Marinette.”  The noirette opened her eyes at the sound of her name, and Chat tilted his head fondly.  “Just focus on me, ok, princess?”

Then she couldn’t look away.  That frosty hue of his normally meadow-green eyes held hers like some sort of hypnosis, and she couldn’t break it.  Their feet glided smoothly on the ice, Chat facing her with a big grin on his face and skating backwards as she followed along without question.

“Now, I’m gonna need you to trust me,” he said after a few minutes.  “Ok?”

Marinette’s eyes widened a bit, almost panicking, before she swallowed and nodded, not daring to look away from the green ones looking back at her.  Then she was spinning, being turned around and lifted up, and before she knew what was happening, she was being held up, suspended in the air in Chat’s hands as he continued to glide along.  Almost on instinct, she stretched her arms out on either side of herself, heart fluttering as she looked out and around instead of down, the sound of Chat’s laugh reaching her ears.

It lasted for several seconds, and then she was being twisted and turned again, this time in reverse, ending with her wrapped up in Chat’s arms as he skated forward and she faced him.  One hand held her elbow, the other curled around her back. His face was so close.

“I told you you could do it,” he told her, voice much quieter than it had been, those bright green eyes looking back at her.  

Once again, her gaze was drawn to his lips, only for a fraction of a second, but it was enough.  Chat’s pupils dilated, and Marinette felt the blood rushing to her face. Heart racing, she looked away, only to trip and fall, pulling both of them down onto the ice.  When they came to a stop, she realized Chat had flipped their positions to cushion her fall, and she hovered over him, her hands resting on either side of his head on the cold, hard ice.

“Falling for me already, princess?” he asked, tone light but clearly nervous.  “I told you to keep your eyes on me.”

Marinette stayed there a second longer before her brain caught up with the situation.  

“It’s late.  We should both go home.”

Flustered, she rose up to stand, stumbling and slipping some before Chat steadied her, careful and sure on his feet.  Without a word, he led them both off of the ice, leaving her to change back into her shoes while he switched back to his regular transformation.

Marinette had a few minutes to think about what happened, relieved Chat wasn’t around to watched the emotions flying rapidly across her features.  She couldn’t deny something about him was drawing her in, and she could feel herself wanting to give in, but she couldn’t. Not only did she love Adrien, but she was Ladybug, Chat’s partner, and she had already rejected him multiple times.  She shook her head as though the act could dispel the clouded emotions of her terrifyingly fickle heart.

She had even more time to think on the way home, both of them silent on the trip.  By the time they arrived at her rooftop, she had made up her mind. She climbed off his back, but, lost in her thoughts, was slow to turn around and bid him goodnight.

“Princess?”  Chat’s voice reached her ears.  “Everything all right? I’m sorry if you didn’t have a good time, I-”

Marinette shushed him with a single finger to his lips, then drew it back suddenly, surprised at what she did.

“Chat, thank you for tonight.  I really enjoyed being with you.”

The smile she gave him was sincere, and the tenseness in his shoulders melted away.

“In fact-” she continued, “-I’ve decided I need to do something about my feelings.  Tomorrow, I’m going to tell him.” She drew a clenched fist to her chest. “That way, I’ll know either way.  No more of this in-between.”

Chat gave her the best smile he could, but inside his chest was burning.

“I’m glad,” he lied, drawing her into a hug to hide his expression from her.  She could read him like a book. “He’d be a blind fool to reject you.”

Marinette’s arms came up to grasp his shoulders as she returned his hug.

“Thank you, Chat Noir.”

She couldn’t say why it almost broke her heart to hear him say those words.


	10. I Loved [Him/Her] First

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 10: Victorian AU
> 
> Marinette finally gets up the courage to confess to Adrien.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since these chapters are connected, it's impossible to do an actual AU, but I did include something Victorian. Also, there's a bit of angst in this chapter, as well as some utilization of Adrinette to further the story. Plot what now? We've finally got some plot, people! All aboard the Marichat express!

“Oh my God, Marinette, I am so excited!” Alya squealed, bouncing back and forth on both her feet.  The raven-haired girl shushed her best friend, concerned she would be prematurely outed by Alya’s inability to contain herself.  “Oh, sorry,” the redhead whispered much more quietly. “But you’re finally going to ask out Adrien! I’ve been waiting for this day for literal _years_.”

Marinette continued to watch her enthusiastic friend with a nervous expression, but there was a hint of amusement behind it.

“Alya, please stop that weird dance you’re doing,” she begged on a suppressed chuckle.  “With what you’re wearing, it looks even more ridiculous.”

Alya’s eye took on a teasing gleam, and she leaned closer.

“Would you say _utterly ridiculous_?”  At the last two words, she held up an arm, bending it at the wrist so that her hand hung limp, giving her voice a nasal quality.

“Oh my God, Alya!  Stop!”

Marinette couldn’t stop the giggles that broke out of her throat, attracting the attention of everyone in a close proximity.

The classroom was quite an interesting sight.  They were studying Charles Dickens'  _Great Expectations_ and were told to dress up in Victorian style clothing as part of an assignment, outfits specifically put together to represent a certain character.  Marinette and Alya’s, of course, were by far the best, most convincing, except for maybe Adrien's, thanks to Marinette’s design and seamstress skills.

The noirette took a look around, eyes landing anxiously on Adrien from his place at a desk not too far away.  Despite her best efforts, when his green eyes met hers, she felt herself blush, quickly turning away so she wouldn’t be blatantly staring.

Truthfully, she felt conflicted over what she planned to do.  She had planned for this day for years, always failing in every single convoluted plan, even in the simple ones.  Part of her wondered whether it wasn’t the universe telling her to give up and save herself the pain and embarrassment of rejection.  The other part of her felt like she could never move on until she knew for sure. Both sides of her wished she could skip straight past the confession and to the actual knowing.

Another small part of her thought she might be doing this to fight against the feelings that were rising up within her for Chat Noir.  Nothing good could come from that, not her hurt pride at admitting he finally fought his way into her heart, not the possible strain on their relationship from secret identities, and what if something were to go wrong?  Would their partnership suffer, too? No. She liked Adrien first, and as terrible as it sounded to say it, he was a much safer choice. Of course, that all depended on whether he accepted her feelings or not.

Only one way to find out.

Just as that thought popped into Marinette’s head, she noticed Alya whispering something urgently at her before disappearing from her side.  When she looked up, somewhat startled out of her reverie, she caught sight of a certain blond making his way toward her.

The smile on his face nearly melted her to the floor.

“Good afternoon, my lady,” he greeted, bowing at the waist and tipping his top hat in her direction.  Marinette giggled ridiculously, unable to stem her nervousness.

“I think that’s a bit medieval, good sir,” she returned.  Adrien smiled.

“That would only be if I called you princess,” he said with a mischievous gleam.  Marinette ignored the twist in her heart at the way he called her Chat’s nickname.  “Wow. Marinette. Your dress looks amazing.”

Adrien looked the whole outfit over appreciatively, impressed by the quality of both the design and creation.

“You look quite dashing yourself,” she replied, choosing not to acknowledge the way her face suddenly felt hot at his attention.

“Oh.  Thank you,” he said bashfully.  “Father would never let an Agreste out in anything that wasn’t designer, so he had one of his assistants make this.”

It occurred to Marinette that this seemed to make Adrien more embarrassed than proud.  The rosiness in his cheeks made her want to fan herself, but she pushed that thought down.  Now was a good a time as any, she quickly decided. Back to the plan.

“Adrien, if you’re not busy during lunch, can we talk for a bit?”

“Of course, Marinette.  Is anything wrong?”

“No,” she answered just a little too brightly.  “I just… wanted to talk, I guess. We never get to talk.”  It was a flimsy excuse, but he seemed to take it in stride.

“Ok,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.  “I’ll see you then.”

As he walked back to his table, pausing once to turn and smile, Alya slunk back to her previous place beside her half-catatonic friend.

“So, how did it go?”

“I’m going to talk to him at lunch.”

“You got this!” Alya encouraged, giving her a wink and a little nudge.

Marinette smiled, ignoring the knot in her chest.

* * *

Chat flew over the rooftops, heart racing somewhere near the pit of his stomach.  The scene at lunch kept playing itself over and over in his head.

Marinette.

His princess.

She loved him.

And he rejected her.

Finally unable to run any further, he collapsed to his knees on top of an abandoned building, clenching his fists and drawing them close to his body in frustration.  His eyes squeezed shut, and his head fell back with a long, loud yell.

“ _GODDAMMIT!_ ” he cursed toward the sky.  There were so many tumultuous emotions competing within him, he had to let them out.  More than ever before, he felt the need to destroy something. “ _Cataclysm!_ ” he called, then looked about rabidly for anything that the world would never miss.  

Finally, he reached down between his feet and touched the roof of the building with his destructive power.  It was both satisfying and not the way the building disintegrated beneath him. He didn’t even care as the decaying structure quickly dissipated and left him, for fractions of a second, standing on air before he plummeted the forty or so feet to the ground, landing with a loud grunt and only a slight jolt of pain.  Somewhere deep inside, he wished it had hurt more.

His ring beeped as tears pricked at his eyes.  Chat looked up at the starless sky, the dust and ash barely cushioning his body from the concrete, but he didn’t care.  With a raspy voice, he uttered, “Claws in.” Just like that, with a flurry of green light, Adrien suddenly took the hero’s place.  A pair of green eyes hovered above his face.

“Hey.  Kid.”

Without a word or even a glance, Adrien pulled the cheese from his pocket and handed it to his kwami.

“That’s not what I was going to say,” the small but powerful black cat said.

“I don’t have it in me to hear anything else right now, Plagg.”

The sprite chewed thoughtfully before finally saying, “You should go see her.”

Adrien’s head whipped sideways, almost glaring at his tiny friend.

“I think I’m the last person she wants to see right now.”

“You’re also probably the only person she wants to see right now,” he countered defiantly.  It would be much easier to take him seriously if he didn’t immediately stuff his mouth with the rest of the Camembert.  “Come on, kid,” he said after he swallowed. “What do you say? One more transformation, and we go visit your princess.”

Adrien lie there for a second, still.

“Plagg, claws out.”

* * *

Marinette lay in her bed, staring up at the ceiling, unsure exactly how she was feeling.

The scene from lunch played over and over in her head- the way Adrien seemed truly happy to see her, the way she stammered through a confession, and the way his face fell before he managed to say: “Marinette, I’m so sorry.  I can’t-”

Then her brain cut off the rest.  She didn’t need to relive any more of it.

Strangely enough, she couldn’t find it in herself to cry all that much.  Despite the fact that she felt like something inside her had been broken and would never recover, she was unable to shed any tears.  In the end, she accomplished her mission, after all. She confessed to Adrien, and she had her answer, which was more than she had been able to do for as long as she knew him.  She was hurting, but there was a small peace that came with it. Now she could truly accept and let go, no regrets. Hopefully he would still want to be her friend. She couldn’t forgive herself if their friendship was ruined forever.

At the thought, a tear finally slipped out, and she closed her eyes at the relieving sensation.  Lying there in the quiet and the dark, she allowed those few tears of grief to flow.

She had no idea how long she lay there, but suddenly there was a quiet tap on her trapdoor, and she sat up almost boltright in bed.

Now, of all times, he shows up?

Marinette wiped the few trails of salt residue from her face before calling, “Come in.”

Slowly, the door opened, and Chat’s blond head peeked through, his expression clearly upset.

“Chat Noir, come in,” she entreated, concern for herself dropping to the bottom of her priorities.

Almost like a kicked puppy (or cat), he climbed carefully into the room, visibly reluctant to come too close.

“Hey, princess.”

His entire demeanor, his very being, radiated sadness.  Without a second thought, Marinette reached out and pulled him into her embrace.  She could feel him stiffen at her touch before his body relaxed, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close.

“Chaton, what’s wrong?”

He was quiet for a moment, but she didn’t press.

“I just… had a bad day.  I accidentally-” here his voice cracked.  “I accidentally… hurt my best friend.”

Marinette could hear the thickness of his voice, and began caressing his back soothingly.

“It’s ok, Chat.  You tell me whatever you want to, and _only_ what you want to.”

His arms tightened around her almost to the point of suffocation, but he quickly loosened his hold, slumping over her should with the full weight of his body.

“My friend said she loved me today, and I didn’t say it back.”

The words were spoken into her shoulder, but she heard every one.

“Oh, Chat.”  Her eyes closed in sympathy, in kinship of feeling.  “I’m so sorry. Are you going to be ok? Do you want to tell me more about it?”

Chat’s head shook from side to side as he drew back, looking at her through slightly swollen eyes.

“I’m sorry, princess.”

Marinette’s brow lowered in a confused frown.

“What for, kitty?”

He shook his head again, refusing to say, and she accepted that.

“You know,” she said instead, taking his hand in hers and giving him a rueful half-smile.  “Something similar happened to me today, only, I was the one saying I love you, and he was the one not saying it back.”

Chat’s eyes closed tight, a pained expression on his face.

“I’m sorry!  I didn’t mean to make this about me.  I just wanted you to know, you know, that you’re not alone.”

Without explanation, he pulled her into another hug, burying his face in her neck.

“I’m so sorry, Marinette,” he said again.  “I swear, we’re going to be ok. I’ll work every day for the rest of my life to make you see how special you are.  That guy- he’s a fool. You’re more than anyone could ever hope for. I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

The noirette drew back, gaze directed at her lap.

“You shouldn’t say things like that, Minou.”

“It’s true, princess.  I meant every wor-”

“Chat, please!”  Her bright, bluebell eyes looked into his, moist and pleading.  “Chat, I can’t hear you say things like that, not when, if put in Adrien’s place you would have done the same thing!”

The boy looked back at her, shock evident on his face.

“Chat, I’m sorry,” she said, reaching out again for his hand.  “That was too far- I didn’t mean it. It’s just… I know how much you love Ladybug, so it’s just, you know, hard to believe what you say when I know that, if I were to have confessed to _you_ instead, I still wouldn’t have been enough.”

Then she shrugged, vulnerable and ashamed.

Chat watched her for several moments as though lost in thought until she began to squirm under his gaze.  Then, without warning, he leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. It was only a second, and when he pulled away, she stared with a look of shock.

“If I rejected you for Ladybug, it wouldn’t be because you’re not enough.  It would be because I loved her first.”


	11. Out Of All The Gin Joints In All The Towns In All The World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 11: Mask Ball
> 
> Marinette and Chat Noir attend the same masquerade ball. As expected, they cross paths.

“Ugh, Tikki, this is a mistake!”  Marinette collapsed onto her bed, face hiding in her hands, and grunted in frustration.  “What was I thinking?”

The red kwami flew up to hover in front of her chosen, fond smile on her face.

“Oh, Marinette,” she said in her usual upbeat, squeaky voice, “I think it’s a wonderful gesture!”

Marinette lowered her hands, eyes landing on the outfit on the mannequin.

“I should have never agreed to go to this masquerade.  What if he’s there, Tikki, and he sees me? I don’t know what I’m supposed to say to him.”

“Who are you talking about, Marinette, Adrien or Chat Noir?”

The noirette let out another groan.

“Both!”

Her tiny optimistic friend gave her the most encouraging smile she could muster.

“Everything is going to be great!”

* * *

Marinette took a deep breath, then released it as she climbed the steps of the venue alone.  Alya had wanted to arrive and enter together, but Marinette insisted that her outfit be a surprise- to everyone.  Part of her wanted to make her friends do the work of recognizing her, the other part was hoping they wouldn’t be able to, and she could spend the entire evening looking for Chat Noir.  Ever since he insinuated he would be there in civilian form, she couldn’t get the inkling out of her mind. Against her own rationalizations (and best efforts), she obsessed for days over what he would be wearing, and if she might know him outside of the mask.  Loving, caring best friends were wonderful, but they would only get in the way of her misguided and sentient goal.

She passed through the entry doors, handing over her ticket, and scanned the front lobby.  She knew there were several rooms that were part of this event, including a main ballroom, as well as several lounges and a room with a very extensive, expensive food selection.  Her sense of reasoning took over, hoping to track down Chat by process of elimination. As much as he loved to eat when in her presence, she knew that his regular life left him with quite a few restrictions, so she didn’t expect him to be perusing the buffet.  He was a good dancer, she knew from experience, but something told her he would be avoiding the ballroom. On more than one occasion, he expressed frustration with people trying to use him for his looks and status, so she was pretty sure the thought of being forced to dance with a bunch of fawning kiss-ups would be too much for him.

He was likely in one of the lounges, then, and if she had to take a guess, it would be the least populated one, with the smallest chance of running into anyone who would try to accost him, which indicated the lounge room furthest from the entrance and the ballroom.  With an air of decisiveness, she lifted the trail of her gown and headed toward the elevator, pressing the button for the highest floor once she made it inside.

* * *

Adrien wasn’t sure what was worse: being fawned over by people because of who he was, or being fawned over by people because of what he looked like.

When he arrived at the masquerade, he did a quick pass through all of the rooms the guests had access to, then chose to hide in the corner of the one with the fewest people in it.  Glass of champagne in hand, he nervously checked his phone for messages from anyone he knew who was in attendance. Truthfully, he was hoping to receive an alert when Marinette arrived from Alya or Nino, as they told him they would let him know when they found her.  But after nearly an hour of sipping champagne in the least populated area of the entire mask ball, he was beginning to wonder if she just decided not to come.

He did drop that hint that he would be there as Chat Noir in hopes it would induce her to show up.  She didn’t seem entirely enthusiastic, partly because the ball was being thrown by the mayor, and partly because she knew Adrien would be there.  It was becoming apparent that she didn’t hate him, but she also wasn’t exactly ready to be in such a situation with him so soon after he rejected her.

Adrien’s mind began to wander.

_If only I met her first…_

But there was no point in continuing that thought.  He had not only failed to win the heart of the first woman he loved, but now that he felt himself reaching the point where he was ready to move on, he prematurely squashed the only other person he could potentially (oh, who was he kidding, _definitely_ ) see himself falling that deeply in love with.

_Why couldn’t she wait just a little longer…_

The blond, masked boy inhaled sharply, shaking his head and taking another swig of champagne to snap himself out of that line of thinking.  He set the glass down on a nearby countertop, turning toward the door as he considered moving to another room.

And that was when he saw her.

She sashayed into the room, her head turned to the side as she looked about her as though in search of something.  Even in the dim light, she was nearly radiant, but that was nothing new.

What _was_ new, however, was the gown she was wearing.  It absolutely took Adrien’s breath away.

She was dressed in almost all black, a long, fitted gown of some sort of silk.  The neckline was simple, strapless, but the hem of the dress was asymmetrical, a high slit up one leg that almost reached her hip, with a long train she held in her hand.  As she came further into the room, he saw detailed embroidery- paw prints, also in black, and her mask was black, too, mare with lace and mesh, one half of it angled upward and ending in a triangular shape, reminiscent of cat ears.  She wore a black choker with a gold bell hanging from the center, and her clutch was a bright green, matching a large emerald-hued ring on her finger.

Suddenly, Adrien was nervous about her seeing him.  What if she recognized him? What if she thought he was Chat Noir?  Or worse, what if she first thought of him as Chat, and then realized he was Adrien?

Despite the fact that he was desperate to reach out and touch her, to run his fingers up the long, bare stretch of skin from her elbow to her shoulder, he looked quickly around for an exit.

But Marinette was blocking the only entrance to the room, and it wasn’t a very large one at that, in comparison with others.  He only thanked the dim lighting of the room for remaining hidden from her this long. Just as she seemed to be drawing closer, he shifted silently to the side, thankful that he, too, was dressed in mostly dark colors and was able to stay mostly unnoticed.

As he watched from the safety of a dark corner, she paused by the very counter he had been standing at, looking around dejectedly, her shoulders slumping.

He was torn.

He wanted to go to her, but he didn’t want to be found out.  Eventually, his need to be near her won out, and he followed her as she made her way to a balcony, leaning on the railing and looking out at the city of light.

There was a small group of people chatting, but not long after Marinette walked outside, they wandered back indoors, and Adrien saw his chance.  Without a sound, he crept up behind her, stopping only once he was nearly chest to back with her. She visibly straightened, and he knew she could feel him.

A shiver, small but visible, traveled down her spine.

“Good evening, _purr_ -incess.”

* * *

Marinette stilled where she was standing, unsure whether or not she should turn around- whether she even wanted to.  One thing was sure: if the faint tickle of breath on her neck was any indicator, Chat Noir was right behind her, and more likely than not, he was untransformed.

“I don’t advise turning around,” the voice in her ear continued, a voice that was familiar in ways she didn’t understand.  “Unless, of course, you want to run the risk of figuring out who I am.”

_I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t tempted._

“Oh?  Then why approach me, Chaton?”

A low chuckle emanated behind her, sending a shiver through her again and her heart racing, a fluttering sensation in her stomach.

“How could I ignore your invitation?”  A bare finger traced the edge of her mask and down her cheek, and she fought every urge in her body to turn around and pull the mask off the boy behind her.  “Your look is quite inspired, princess. I have to say, I’m flattered. You could have made something more like Ladybug, but you chose me. I’m honored.”

Truthfully, she couldn’t wear anything even closely resembling Ladybug, but she couldn’t tell him that.  Besides, even if it wasn’t a risk for her identity, she wouldn’t have done anything different.

Marinette snorted in response, though it came out much shakier than she expected.  Hopefully, he wouldn’t notice what his close proximity was doing to her.

“Do I get to look on my knight, Minou?”

“Alas, fair princess, I’m afraid that if you see me in my costume, you may figure out who I am, so I must bid you adieu for now.”

A hand in a black sleeve reached out and lifted her own up and to the side until she couldn’t see it anymore, though she felt the soft kiss pressed to her knuckles, then released it again.

“Always a _purr_ -leasure.”

And with that, the warmth at her back disappeared.

Marinette whirled around a few seconds later, but no one was there.  She raised a hand to her chest to calm her racing heart, collapsing back against the railing she had previously been facing, wondering when Chat Noir started having this effect on her.

_What is happening to me?_


	12. These Masks We Hide Behind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 12: Post-Reveal
> 
> Chat Noir finds out something he wasn't supposed to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo, this chapter was beginning to be a monster, so I had to break it up into two. You won't see his entire reaction, as the installment starts with Chat's reaction, but quickly switches into a flashback, which will be continued in the next chapter. I hope you enjoy!

Chat Noir bounded over the rooftops, desperate to escape his own mind, but unable to do so.  There had to be a mistake. This couldn’t be real. Life couldn’t be that good, that awful, no matter how unlucky he was supposed to be.  Though he was not paying attention to where he was going, before he realized it, he was on a dark rooftop across from the Dupain-Cheng bakery, hiding in the shadow of a chimney in the dimness of the night.

He could see the light inside Marinette’s room shining through the windows, and he knew she was probably waiting for him, expecting him to show.  But how could he be there with her, acting normal, with what he knew? Almost paralyzed by his emotions, he simply stood there for hours, until late into the night and early into the morning, long past the time Marinette’s lights eventually turned off and she went to sleep, reliving the last few days in his head in a relentless loop, wondering what kind of fucked up sense of humor fate had.

* * *

_48 hours earlier_

Adrien dashed through an empty, out of bounds hallway, wondering what he had been thinking when he approached Marinette as himself.  He came so close to her discovering that her friend, the same person who had kissed her just days ago, was the same person who had rejected her hours before that kiss.

Things weren’t exactly awkward between them at school, but he found himself avoiding her while not in the suit, out of fear he would blurt out something stupid like: “Marinette Dupain-Cheng, I’m actually Chat Noir, and I know I rejected you, sort of, but I think I’m falling in love with you.”  At the very thought, he could feel his heart do weird jumps in his chest, his hands shaking from nervousness.

The longer their friendship went on, the harder it was to deny that there weren’t deeper feelings there- at least on his part, though he had no idea what she felt.

Ok, so that wasn’t a fair thing to say.  He knew how she felt about _Adrien_ , but _Chat Noir?_  Was it possible that she might be starting to see _him_ as more than a friend?

And if that were to happen, and they both decided they wanted to pursue some sort of dysfunctional relationship in which he was both her secret boyfriend and secretly her friend, then how could he do that, knowing how he had hurt her when he panicked after she confessed to him and blurted some ridiculous nonsense instead of actually answering her question?

_“Adrien, is there any chance you might have feelings for me, too?”_

_“Marinette, I’m so sorry.  I can’t... I don’t know what to say.”_

And now, he had just walked up to her, just like that, incapable of resisting the way it made him feel to see her wearing his colors, caressing her face with the back of his fingers when he wanted it to be his lips instead.  And then he ran, terrified of losing her as _both_ sides of himself if she knew the truth, until he found himself in a part of the building that wasn’t being used for the event.

It was a relief, to be out of the view of prying eyes.  His costume wasn’t exactly a giveaway for his true identity- either of them- but there were always people on the lookout for Adrien Agreste, and he wasn’t in a condition to pretend like his world wasn’t crashing.  He had finally managed to catch his erratic breath when his phone rang, startling him. As he recovered, holding the phone up with unstable hands to view the screen, he realized it was Nino calling him.

In retrospect, he shouldn’t have answered.

* * *

Marinette wandered through the hallways in a daze, wondering how she had gotten to this point.  Her text messages had a few missed notifications, but she didn’t have it in her to check them at the moment.  She was much more intent on something else.

Chat Noir was here, somewhere, untransformed, and had been standing right behind her.  All she had to do was turn around, but she let fear and duty govern her. Despite her years of adamant insistence that they were safer not knowing each other’s identities, she had always been curious, even more so as time passed.

And then he was so close…

Suddenly, the raven-haired girl realized she had stumbled onto the ballroom, which was much darker than the hall, and much more spacious, but full of bodies moving about, the air vibrating with music and conversation.  Her phone buzzed in her hand again, and she instinctively lifted it up to check it.

Really, she should have left it alone.

* * *

Adrien held his phone up to his ear, taking a second to compose himself and hopefully keep his high emotions out of his voice.

“Hey.”

“Bro!” came the voice on the other end of the line.  There was music and the unmistakable vibration of bass in the background.  “Hey! Alya and I were wondering where you’ve been? Come meet us in the ballroom!”

The blond hesitated, concerned that Marinette would be there, and that he wouldn’t be able to hide his feelings.

“Is, uh, is Marinette there?” he finally asked, choosing to ignore the way he squeaked when he said her name.

“Sorry, man.  Alya hasn’t been able to find her this whole time!  I think Mari’s been super weird about this whole thing.  Who knows- maybe she just decided not to come. Anyway, let me know when you get here!”

Then the call ended, and Adrien stared at his phone for a few seconds, trying to calm the beating of his heart.  He wasn’t sure if he was more disappointed or relieved that Marinette wasn’t with them, but he decided to go ahead and spend time with his friend.  It wouldn’t be fair to Nino to blow him off so blatantly. Tucking his phone into his pocket, he began to make his way back toward his waiting friends.

* * *

“Marinette!” the girl’s best friend called to her, waving her over excitedly.  Once the noirette was within Alya’s reach, she was pulled into a paralyzing, though brief, hug, then quickly released.  “Girl, I’m so glad you came! And look at you! You look amazing! I can’t believe you wanted to keep this outfit all to yourself, but I have to hand it to you, I probably wouldn’t have been able to pick you out in this crowd.”

Marinette smiled as best she could, nervously glancing around in search of Chat Noir.  Then she realized what she was doing, and she shook her head, turning back to face her friend.  Looking for Chat Noir? What was she thinking? It wasn’t like he was transformed, and she had no idea what he was wearing.  Still, deep inside she wished she would recognize him as soon as she saw him, but knew it probably wouldn’t happen.

Alya was still talking on.

“And, ooh girl, do we have a surprise for you!”

The raven-haired girl stilled at that, concern over what her redheaded friend could mean seeping into her.  Just then, Nino’s phone lit up, and he held up a finger as though to say he would be back soon. Lifting the phone up to his ear, he started to walk away.

“Hey-”

And the rest of his call was lost to the noise of the room, Nino disappearing in the crowds of people as Alya did an excited little dance.

“Holy shit, girl, this dress is incredible, and that mask!  I swear to God, if Chat Noir were here right now, I bet his ego would double in size.”

Marinette gave her a nervous smile.

_Oh, if only you knew._

Alya continued to gush about the details of her outfit, but Marinette had a difficult time really paying attention, so she only smiled absent-mindedly, anxiously shifting back and forth on both her feet.  Within a few minutes, Nino’s face appeared close by again, and she was relieved, hoping he would bring up another topic of conversation, and hopefully distract her from the one person she couldn’t stop thinking about.

But then in the next second, a blond head appeared behind him, and Marinette felt her stomach drop through the floor.  As soon as he saw her, the boy, whom she knew had to be Adrien, stilled, and for a second it was like the two of them were the only people in the room.

Finally, he walked the rest of the distance to join their group, albeit more slowly, more reluctantly.

“Hey there… Marinette.”

* * *

Adrien tried not to panic, but his endocrine system seemed to have other plans.  He felt his adrenaline spike, coursing through his body at levels that he was sure would make him either tremble uncontrollably or fall to his knees.

Marinette’s striking blue eyes stared back at him, revealing her own fear, though what for he wasn’t exactly sure.  Things may have been a little awkward between them lately, but there was no animosity, no reason for her to be scared of his presence.  Nino’s voice cut into his thoughts.

“Marinette just found us!  Doesn’t her outfit look _amazing?_ ”

Adrien could only nod dumbly, suddenly taken with the way the sheen of the dress seemed to reflect the low lights all around them.  He didn’t even noticed the exchange of looks that passed between Nino and Alya.

“Anyway, my girl and I are headed to the dance floor.  You two dudes should try it out!”

Then, Marinette was suddenly falling into him, and his arms were instinctively reaching out to cradle her, the sensation both pleasing and terrifying.  She squawked, turning around for a second and giving a glare to Alya, who was smiling back unrepentantly.

“Have fun, kids!” she called, and led Nino away as the pair stared after them in horror.

 _Oh no oh no oh no oh no_ -

Then his arms were empty again, and Marinette was standing up straight, smoothing out her dress and avoiding his eyes.

“Sorry about that, Adrien,” she began, and even in the dim light, he could see the flush in her cheeks.  “Alya is really intrusive sometimes. Don’t feel obligated to dance with me just because of that.”

There were a few seconds of awkward silence as Marinette rubbed one hand up and down her elbow, clearly uncomfortable and still refusing to look at him.

“Well,” she finally said, “I should get going,” and started to take a step as though to leave.

“Wait!” Adrien blurted without thinking.  

She stopped midstep, but still didn’t look up.  

“One dance wouldn’t hurt, right?” he asked, ignoring his screaming brain.  “I’d be honored.”

Adrien held out a hand, hoping she would accept it.  He wasn’t prepared for the brightness of her eyes when they finally met his own.  He hoped in the dark room she couldn’t see him blush. Letting out a nervous chuckle, he raised his other hand to the back of his neck.

“We’re still friends, aren’t we?”

Marinette nodded, eyes dropping to his hand and releasing him from his torture.  Why were they so familiar to him, even more behind that mask? Something about them called to him, and he didn’t know why.  He brushed off the feeling. Then her hand softly descended onto his own, sending his heart racing.

“Right.  Friends.”

* * *

Marinette tried to keep her cool, allowing Adrien to lead her around the ballroom floor.  It was odd but amazing how well they moved together, almost like they had done this before.

She stifled a laugh.  Of course they did. There was that time at Chloe’s party years before.  But for some reason, it felt much more recent than that.

Her mind flew to Chat.  Where was he now, and what was he doing?  Could he see her wherever he was? What would it be like to dance with him here?  She scanned the couples dancing around her. _Is he one of them?_

Marinette looked about almost desperately for blond-haired males, and was disappointed in what she found.  Sure, there were a few, but none of them were the right height, or shade, or even the right build.

“Looking for someone?” she heard Adrien ask, and startled so much that she tripped slightly.  For a second, she thought Chat was talking to her.  He caught her immediately and kept moving, barely even missing a step.

“I, uh, no?  Just… looking at all the different outfits and… masks.”

“I bet you’re curious what people look like when they’re not wearing them, aren’t you?  Curious who you might know, and if you would recognize them when they’re wearing their masks?  Or… when they’re not?”

Marinette’s attention immediately flew up to the green eyes looking down at her, her pulse erratic.  How could he know that? Did he know what she was doing? There was no way. That was crazy, right?

“I mean-” he went on, laughing awkwardly, “that’s kind of what I was thinking, especially when I saw you.  I mean, I kind of feel like I’d know you anywhere.”

She couldn’t look away, not when his eyes glowed in the light like that, so much like someone else, looking at her the way Chat did-

Marinette stopped, pulling out of Adrien’s grip.  A startled expression took over his features.

“Marinette, are you ok?  Did I say something wrong?”

_What am I doing?_

She shook her head, unsure what to say, knowing it wasn’t his fault, but unable to stay in this situation, confused as she was.

“I’m sorry, Adrien, but I have to go.”

And she took off without another word, barely even hearing as he called after her, disappearing into the crowd.

* * *

Adrien stood rooted in place for a second, shocked at Marinette’s sudden departure.  Then, in a blink, he took off after her, only to realize that she was lost to the masses.  He darted about and around people as best he could, but came up with nothing. Practically panting from his excited state, he slowly made his way back out of the room and into the hallway, sending a text to Nino to let him know he had to get home, then shut his phone off and tucked it into his pocket.  He didn’t really want to have to answer to anyone right then.

Stepping out into the brisk night air, he pulled off his mask, which had begun to feel stifling, and breathed deep, leaning against the outer wall with his eyes closed.  The sound of zipping caught his attention, and he quickly turned his head in the direction of the sound. A few buildings away, he saw Ladybug swinging off in the opposite direction.

_What was she doing here?_

* * *

Marinette practically collapsed onto her bed, staring up, unseeing, at the ceiling.  Her mind was racing a mile a minute, not a single thought stopping long enough to be heard.  Dancing with Adrien left her feeling beyond confused.

She couldn’t figure out _why_ she was so uncomfortable around him.  It wasn’t like he had been going out of his way to treat her differently.  And she was beginning to realize that, though she still had lingering feelings for him, her developing feelings for Chat Noir were quickly beginning to eclipse the ones she had for Adrien.  But when they were dancing, and his eyes were behind that mask, glowing green at her in the iridescence of the room, it felt like she was dancing with Chat.

Her cheeks flushed in shame.  Not only did she spend half their dance looking around for someone else, but she ended up projecting her feelings for Chat onto Adrien.

They were _not_ the same person, and it would serve her well to remember that.

Running away from him was probably inconsiderate, and she would have to think of an excuse and apologize to him in the morning, but for now, she wasn’t sure how to face him.

_I’m sorry, Adrien.  Even though I really did like you, I may or may not have been using my feelings for you to suppress the way I’m starting to feel for someone else, and then started imagining you were him.  It doesn’t help that you kind of look like him. That’s why I freaked out and ran away._

Yea right.

She hadn’t been lying there long, wrapped up in the chaotic mess of her mind, when she heard a light tap on her trapdoor.  Marinette's head jolted upward, staring at the underside of the door as thought she could will the sound to be a figment of her imagination.

Then, she heard it again, slightly louder this time.

Knowing she couldn’t avoid him, and not really wanting to, she slowly crawled up toward the door and lifted it up.  Two glowing green eyes greeted her.

“Good evening again, princess.”


	13. Boy Who Is Also A Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 13: Villain
> 
> Chat shows up at Marinette's after the masquerade, and we get a little more insight into what happened before her identity was revealed. (reveal doesn't happen in this chapter, though)

“Good evening again, princess.”

“Chat!”  Marinette wasn’t sure why her voice sounded surprised- after all, she knew exactly who was on the other side of the door even before she opened it, but she was still surprised at his presence, anyway.  “What, uh, what are you doing here?”

The leather-clad hero climbed silently onto her bed, his luminescent eyes shining in the dark.

“I really wanted to see you again.  The party- I, uh, I didn’t get to really talk to you the way I wanted to.  Identities in the way and all that.”

She released an airy scoff through her nostrils, rueful half-smile on her face.

“What’s the matter, Chaton?  Afraid I’m going to see who you are?”

She was really only teasing, but the way the look on his face fell, she realized he had hit the mark more than she meant to.

“Kitty?  Are you afraid of what I’m going to think of who you are when you’re not Chat Noir?”

Those glowing eyes fell to the blankets between them, and she knew she guessed right.  She reached out to offer comfort the best way she knew how- through touch.

“Oh, kitty- you don’t ever have to think that way.  I would never-”

“We know each other,” he blurted, and she stopped mid-sentence, shocked speechless for a moment.

“What?”

He continued looking down guiltily.

“We know each other.  I mean, we’ve… met before.  Had a few interactions. One of the last times I saw you, I think I left a pretty negative impression on you.”

Marinette’s brow furrowed at this new information, her mind racing at who she had met and had some sort of disagreement with, but she came up blank.

“Chat, that’s- I mean- it’s really ok.  It’s not like people don’t have problems with each other sometimes.  You weren’t mean to me, were you? You weren’t- I don’t know- trying to hurt me or something, were you?”

Blond hair whipped from side to side as he shook his head emphatically.

“No, princess, of course not, but- but that doesn’t meant I _didn’t-_ ”

“Chaton,” she cut him off, lifting his chin in her fingers to force him to meet her eyes.  His own looked so sad. “Whatever it is, I promise you, if I haven’t gotten over it already, I will.  There isn’t anything you could do to me that I couldn’t forgive.”

His eyes drifted closed, expression pained.  He wasn’t really sure what hurt him more: the idea of her getting over him, or the idea of her not.

“Ok?” she asked, and he forced himself to nod.  “After all,” she added, attempting to lighten the mood, “it’s not like you’re Adrien Agreste or anything.   _That_ I may not be able to handle.  He’s such a good friend of mine, and I think I might have made things awkward with us forever.  Good on me, huh?”

She finished with a laugh for emphasis, but Chat wasn’t smiling.  If anything, he looked even more upset.

“Hey.  Kitty. That was a really bad joke- I’m sorry.  You know I love you, right?”

At that, Chat’s eyes flew up to hers, wide with surprise.

“What?”

Marinette could feel her cheeks coloring, and she only hoped he couldn’t see them that well in the dark.

“I mean, you’re kind of becoming my best friend, so, yea, I love you, Chaton.  Will you be my boy who is also a friend?”

He laughed a little at her silly question, but there wasn’t any mirth in it.  Marinette wondered if he was spiraling.

“A friend.  Yea. I guess I deserve that.”

She looked at him quizzically, wondering if he just indirectly insulted her.

“Not like that!” he quickly corrected, hands coming up and flapping about.  “I’m really so honored for you to even want to be my friend, I swear! I don’t deserve you, truly, because the truth is... princess, can I tell you something?”

Marinette watched as he babbled, hearing his words without entirely processing, but eventually her brain caught up.

“Um… what?”

It was a bit nerve-wracking how serious his expression was.

“I, uh, I may have a confession.”

The noirette sucked in a breath, trying to prepare herself for everything from he was actually an adult man with a wife and kids, to he was secretly in league with Hawkmoth.  It was kind of impressive how quickly her brain could go from zero to sixty, but she kept her mouth shut, nodding for him to continue.

“Princess, I think… I think I might be sort of falling in love with you?”

He phrased it like a question, but it hit her like a ton of bricks.  When she didn’t say anything for several seconds, his shoulders slumped, and he shifted as though he was about to get up.

“I’m sorry, Marinette.”

Suddenly Marinette realized she had stopped breathing, and she sucked in a huge breath.

“Chat, wait!”

The boy in front of her stilled, but didn’t turn back around.

“Chat, I- I have a confession for you, too.”

Slowly, his body turned until he was looking directly at her, a mixture of fear and hope playing across his face.

“Chat, I, uh, I may or may be starting to have feelings for you, too.”

Despite the fact that he said it first, she couldn’t help the concern she felt that she was about to be rejected- _again-_ or about to ruin another precious friendship.

But as she watched the smile grow on his face, all those fears mostly disappeared, and she found herself smiling back.  Then she remembered who she was, and her whole face fell again.

“But, Chat, what about Ladybug?”

It felt weird to talk about herself as though it was someone else, but she ignored that.

“Ladybug is very special to me, but it’s been years, and she still shows no sign of changing her mind about us.”  Marinette swallowed at the irony. “I honestly thought I would never be interested in anyone else, but lately, being with you… I don’t know, Marinette, I guess you’ve just… taken me by surprise.  I meant what I said the other night. If I had met you first, who knows? Maybe we’ve missed out on the last few years. I know I’m beginning to feel like I have.”

There was a minute or so of silence as she took in everything he said, fought against the parts of her brain that were programmed for her role as Ladybug, and came to a conclusion: she really wanted this with him.  But one small fact niggled at her brain. He had no idea she was Ladybug, and she could either tell him and risk hurting him again, worse than ever before, or she could keep it to herself for now, let things settle, then consider again whether the time was right.

“And what about Adrien?” he asked, breaking her out of her thoughts.  “I saw you dancing with him earlier. I’m sorry- I didn’t mean to spy.  I was just… close by.”

Marinette’s mind did an involuntary scan again of all the people around them when they were dancing, trying to recall if she saw _anyone_ who fit Chat’s profile, but came up with nothing.

“We’re just friends, really.  There was a time when I wanted more, it really wasn’t even that long ago, but sometimes it feels like it.  A lots changed in the last few days, the last few weeks. I’m finally ready to let that go, I think.”

“What if he came up to you tomorrow, confessed his love for you, and begged you for another chance?”

She cocked her head to the side, suppressing a laugh at that outrageous scenario.  There was no way that would ever happen, but she indulged his question.

“I guess I would have to tell him that I’ve already begun moving on.  In all honesty, it might be hard, but mostly because after everything, I don’t want to hurt him, either of us, for that matter.  Or you.”

“Don’t worry, princess.  If he ever hurts you again, I’ll make sure he regrets it.”

“Chat Noir!” Marinette laughed, slapping him lightly on the arm  “Stop treating him like the villain of all this! He didn’t do anything wrong.  You can’t help the way you feel, that’s all. I don’t blame him for that.”

Hearing the truth in her words, something inside Chat died a little.  He truly didn’t deserve her.

“But you can’t stand the idea of him being me,” he ventured, biting the inside of his cheek even as he said it, “so you have to have _some_ sort of resentment for him.”

Marinette sighed, trying to think of how to say what she was thinking without outing herself.

“It’s just… there are circumstances in my life that would make that whole hypothetical twist of fate a little too much for me to deal with right now.”  Chat’s face didn’t twitch, but inside he was cracking. “It’s a little embarrassing, besides, how I’ve cried to you about him and told you all these things.  If you were him? I don’t know if I could face you ever again, that’s for sure. I can’t handle that much complicated. My life is complicated enough as it is.”

He swallowed, wondering if the day would ever come when he could tell her the truth.  But did she even want to know?

“Princess… is… is my identity something you _want_ to know?”

She appeared to think for a minute before responding.

“I mean, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious.  But, like I said: I don’t know how much more I can handle right now.  Baby steps, I guess. For now, being here with you… it’s enough.”

Almost as though his body was acting on its own, he leaned a little closer.

“So, what would you say, then, if I said I wanted to be _more_ than your ‘boy who is also a friend’?”

She mirrored his movement, eyes falling down to his lips.

“I’d say that sounds _purr_ -fect.”

Just like the way his lips felt when, in the next second, they were pressed against hers.


	14. What's A Little Secrecy Between Lovers?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 14: Angst
> 
> Marinette and Alya have a disagreement, and Chat Noir is there to comfort.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tend to post chapters first and edit later, so if you see errors, my bad. Usually they're nothing so glaring that you can't figure out what it's supposed to say. Thanks for reading!

_ 36 hours earlier _

“Girl, what happened to you?”

Alya wasted no time in accosting her friend as soon as she passed through the gates of the park where they were meeting, falling into step beside her with an expression that demanded answers.  

“First you were all secretive about your outfit, and then you acted super weird about Adrien- you even took off!  I heard about your little escape. What are you, going back to the days of teenage angst?”

Marinette sighed patiently, her mood too good to be ruined by her nosy, if well-meaning, friend.

“Sorry, Alya.  I’ll make it up to you,” she offered, not taking the bait.

Alya stopped dead in her tracks, forcing Marinette to halt and spin around with a questioning look.

“That’s it?  That’s all I get?  No explanation, just… you’re sorry?”

The noirette sighed again, but with a little less patience.

“Can’t you try to see it from my point of view?  I mean, you did literally throw me into the arms of the same guy who rejected me less than a week ago.  Didn’t you think that would make both of us a bit uncomfortable?”

Alya looked around as though searching for the right thing to say.

“But… you two belong together.  Adrien  _ likes _ you, really, I  _ know _ he does.  He just-”   
  
“Alya!”

The redhead stopped mid-sentence, surprised by her friend’s outburst.  Marinette took a deep breath.

“I know you want to see me happy, but you’re going about it the wrong way.  Adrien does not and will not ever have those kinds of feelings for me. Let it go.  I’ve moved on.”

She turned again to keep walking, only to walk straight into the chest of the very blond boy they were discussing.  She stumbled back, a tiny gasp escaping her, her eyes slowly climbing up the broad chest in front of her up to a pair of bright green eyes.  As she stared, his face turned red.

“Uh, I just-” he stammered, then pointed off in a direction behind them and inarticulately explained, “photoshoot.”

On the other side of the park, she could see the remnants of a set up being taken down, and she gave him a sympathetic look, wishing she could take back the words she just said to Alya.

“You just finished a photoshoot?” she asked awkwardly, and he nodded  After an uncomfortable moment of silence, she finally blurted: “I’m really sorry you heard that.”  Might as well bite the bullet. “That was really insensitive of me to just say in public. That’s, uh, that’s no one else’s business.”  Here she looked pointedly off to the side at Alya, who was watching the whole scene with way too much interest. Adrien just stared dumbly back at her.  “So, I guess I’m just really sorry, especially for running out on you last night. That wasn’t cool of me. Please don’t take it personally. You’re my friend, and I shouldn’t treat you like that because I’m having problems.”

“Being with me… is a problem?”

His voice sounded so small, so disappointed, that she felt her chest tighten.

“No!  That’s not- that’s not what I meant.  There was something else entirely going on, and I took it out on you, and for that I’m sorry.”

He didn’t exactly looked relieved, but some of the tension left his shoulders.  Both stood there for a few seconds, unsure what else to say.

“I should go,” Marinette finally stated, looking again at Alya.  Adrien nodded but didn’t move. “Maybe I’lll… see you later?”

For the first time in their interaction, a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, his whole face softening.

“Can’t wait.”

Her heart fluttered in her chest, but she forced herself to turn and leave him, briefly looking back to wave, only to find him still rooted to the same spot.  With a great force of will, she faced Alya, grabbing her by the arm and practically dragging her across the street to her house, up the stairs, and into her room.

As soon as they made it inside, she whirled on her frustrating best friend.

“Did you do that on purpose?”

Alya stared back at her for a beat, seeming to debate how she should answer.

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Alya.  Did you ask me to meet you there at the same time Adrien was finishing his shoot on purpose?”

The redhead’s lips pursed to one side, her eyes narrowing the way they did when she was determined.

“And if I did?”

“Goddammit, Alya!  Stop meddling! You’re going to ruin the very fragile state of my friendship with Adrien, not to mention, I have no intention of pursuing him anymore!  I’ve moved on, ok? Now you’re just making things weird.”

Alya’s eyes narrowed even further until they were almost two small slits in her face.

“What aren’t you telling me, Marinette?”

“What?”  Her heart began to pound, and she took a step back as though retreating from something.  Alya instinctively stepped forward.

“What are you not telling me?  I know something is up. There’s no way you would go from in love with Adrien and confessing to him one day, to completely over him a few days later.  What are you hiding from me?”

Marinette felt backed into a corner, with no way out.  What was she supposed to say? She couldn’t tell Alya about Chat Noir- it was too dangerous for anyone else to get involved.

Suddenly, Alya’s eyes widened, taking on the same gleam they get when she smells out a story.

“Oh my God.  This is about Chat Noir isn’t it?”

“What?!” the noirette exclaimed, voice just a little too high-pitched.  “What are you talking about?”

To her dismay, Alya had honed in on the idea already, and the wheels in her mind were turning.

“You dress and mask yesterday- they were designed off of Chat Noir.  And I know that you’re friends with him, and you see him regularly, despite the fact you refuse to admit it.  And what a surprise, that now that you’ve been seeing him for, oh, I don’t know, what, several weeks now, that the second Adrien rejects you, you’re totally ok with that?  The Marinette I know would never ‘move on’ so quickly. Unless you already were before you even asked him.”

It was a bit disorienting, and a little panic-inducing, how quick Alya was to put facts together and string them into a plausible narrative.  Marinette found herself breathing a little harder than normal, at a total loss of what to say. She didn’t want to lie to her friend, but she couldn’t tell her the truth.

She settled for a fraction of it.

“I’m not ready to tell you what I’m thinking yet, ok?  I’m just not. And I know you’re my best friend, but there are some things I’m trying to figure out right now, and having all this attention… all these  _ questions _ when I don’t have the answers, it just makes me feel more confused.  Can we let it go… for now at least? Please?”

The girl in front of her stared down at her for a second before sighing and turning around to grab her phone and bag.  Once she had her bag slung over her shoulder, she faced Marinette again.

“I don’t know what’s going on with you, but from where I’m standing,  _ that’s _ the problem.  You used to tell me everything, Marinette, but lately you’ve been so… secretive.  Lost in your own world, and I’m not talking about that Adrien-centered dreamland you used to disappear to all the time.  This one is completely unknown to me. And as long as you keep pushing me away, I don’t really know what to say to you. What are we supposed to talk about, when suddenly you’re keeping secrets from me?  Just… call me when you’re ready to talk, ok?”

Alya reached down to open the trapdoor.

“Alya!” Marinette couldn’t help but call.  Her friend stopped and looked up, but didn’t say anything.  “I’m sorry,” the noirette finally offered, deeply feeling how little those words were worth.

“Yea.”  Alya shrugged.  “Me too, Mari. Me too.”

Then she descended through the door and was lost to Marinette’s sight.

Marinette sunk down onto her bed, drawing her knees up to her chest and resting her chin on them.  She stared into space for an unknown length of time before there was a tapping at the door in her ceiling.  She felt her body flood with relief, and couldn’t get the door open fast enough.

As soon as he was all-fours on the bed, she pulled him into a bone-crushing hug and buried her face in his chest, breathing in his scent.

“I’m so glad you’re here.”

A gloved hand came up to rub her back soothingly.

“So am I, princess.”  And she felt a kiss on the top of her head.  “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong? I saw your friend leaving not long ago.  She didn’t look too happy, so I thought something might have happened.”

Marinette inhaled deeply, holding the breath and then releasing it slowly.

“It’s nothing,” she finally answered.

The arms holding her started pushing her back until she was face to face with her boyfriend of twelve hours.

“It doesn’t seem like nothing.”

She let out a frustrated sigh, stretching the legs she had been sitting on out in front of her.

“Well, it’s  _ not _ nothing, but it can’t be helped.”

Marinette was pretty sure if the sudden quirk of Chat’s mask was any indicator, he was raising and eyebrow.

“ _ Nothing _ is nothing when it comes to you, princess.  Please, I want to know.”

The raven-haired girl sat there for a minute, weighing her options.  How many secrets could she afford to keep from Chat, considering the major secret of her identity (and his, whoever he was)?  Put that way, she couldn’t justify keeping anything from him that wasn’t necessary.

“Alya’s always been a bit of a meddler, and I’ve always appreciated how helpful and supportive she wants to be, but lately, she’s been taking it too far.”

“How so?”

“She just- I dont know- I guess… she’s trying to help even when I haven’t asked her to?  Even when I’ve asked her to leave it well enough alone?”

Chat looked at her, expression thoughtful.

“Does this have anything to do with that Agreste kid?”

Marinette snorted.

“You can call him Adrien, you know.  That is his name.” He shrugged, nonchalant.  “But, yea. She’s trying to force something that isn’t there, like last night, and today.  And now she’s suspicious of me because she knows I’m not being completely honest with her.”  This time, Marinette was the one who shrugged, from helplessness. “I don’t know what to tell her.  I guess if I could tell her more, I would.”

“Do you want to tell her about us?”

Marinette’s surprised gaze caught his, her eyes wide.

“I… I don’t know.  Yes? No? Maybe someday?  This is all unfamiliar territory to me.  I don’t want to put any of us in danger, and if I were to tell Alya, I’m not sure how long it would stay a secret.  Not that I’m saying she can’t keep a secret! It’s just… the more people who know… you know?”

Chat looked at her fondly, nodding as his eyes fell to her lips.  Marinette swallowed, absolutely still as he raised her chin with his fingers.

“Maybe for now, then, this just stays between us?”

She could feel her eyes slowly drifting closed, the upper part of her body unconsciously tilting forward as she felt the brush of fingers against one of her legs.

So deep was she under his spell as his mouth began to move against hers, his arm coming to wrap around her lower back, that he could have asked her anything, and she would have said yes.


	15. To All The Boys I've Loved Before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 15: Found
> 
> Chat and Marinette has some issues to deal with.

_12 hours earlier_

“Found you.”

Marinette’s vision was dark, thanks to the pair of hands covering her eyes.  Typically, she would have expected the culprit to be Chat Noir, but he would never approach her this way in the middle of a public place and the voice sounded nothing like him.

“Uhh, I… give up?”

Her sight was suddenly restored, the brightness of the sunny sky momentarily startling her vision.  In the few seconds it took her to adjust to the drastic difference, a figure came around from behind her, wide smile on his face.

His face topped with… blue hair.

She would know that hair anywhere, and come to think of it, if she weren’t distracted with thoughts (ok, wishes) about Chat, then she would have recognized his voice right away.

“Luka!” she exclaimed, betraying her surprise.  He continued to grin at her.

“Marinette, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you.  I’m so glad I caught you!”

“Oh.  You’ve been… looking for me?”

The blue-haired boy nodded enthusiastically, smiling wider than ever.

“I’ve been meaning to catch up with you.  Are you busy? Do you want to go somewhere and hang out for a bit?”

To say she was surprised would be an understatement, but she wasn’t necessarily displeased.  She always liked Luka. They got along well. She enjoyed spending time with him. But she remember he had feelings for her, and the thought gave her pause.

“Oh!  Uhh… yes?”

“Great!” he said, stepping closer and reaching for her hand.  “Do you have plans for lunch?”

“Actually,” she replied, stalling for time and pulling her hand away, “I sort of had plans for today?”  Luka’s face fell slightly, and she told herself to ignore it. “Another time?”

“She’s going with me,” a familiar voice interjected, and suddenly there was an arm draping around her shoulders.  Marinette’s cheeks turned scarlet.

Luka looked crushed, but he stepped back, and she breathed a little easier.

“Sorry, guys.  I didn’t realize.”  Then he nodded at them both.  “Marinette, I’ll text you?”

She gave him her best smile (which wasn’t entirely convincing) and waved as he spun to walk away, turning her head once he was out of sight to stare in shock at the boy beside her.

She was met with bright green eyes and a blinding smile.

“Adrien?”

“Sorry about that,” the blond said.  “I thought you looked a little uncomfortable.  I didn’t mean to interfere.”

She continued to watch him, dumbstruck.

“I know you may not be entirely comfortable with me yet, but you’re my friend, pr- uh, preeecious, my precious friend.”  His smile turned nervous. “I just wanted to help my… precious… friend.”

Marinette stood there for another minute without saying a word.

“Right,” she finally managed, unable to think of really anything else.

Adrien gave her an awkward half-smile, nodding slightly before turning and starting to walk back toward the school entrance.

“Adrien!” Marinette called after him, her brain finally catching up.  The blond turned. “Th- thanks.”

He smiled, a little more sincerely this time, then went inside.

Marinette began to walk aimlessly, not really seeing where she was going, too surprised by the odd last few minutes to think straight.

It was a surprise to suddenly see Luka like that.  She would be lying if she said she never had any sort of feelings for him, even if they were never as strong as the ones she had for Adrien.  He confessed to her in the past, and she chose not to pursue any sort of relationship with him because of Adrien. The irony of finding herself in a similar situation was not lost on her.

When Luka asked her to go to lunch, she didn’t immediately realize he may have had more than friendly intentions, and she couldn’t exactly tell him she was seeing Chat Noir.  He would undoubtedly believe her, but if she couldn’t tell Alya, then she _definitely_ couldn’t tell Luka, whom she hadn’t seen in months.

And of _course_ it would be Adrien who showed up.  Did he intend to scare Luka off by pretending that they were seeing each other?  And if so, why? He said he was helping a friend, but that seemed like a bit more than something any friend would do.  Even now, on the way to getting over him, just the thought of Adrien wanting her like that was enough to send her heart fluttering.  His arm around her shoulders, his body so close to hers, the scent of his cologne and shampoo- they still made her weak in the knees.  Marinette’s cheeks flushed in shame. She should be grateful for Adrien trying to help her out, not use it as an opportunity to crush on him again.  What would Chat think if he knew?

Before Marinette knew where she going, she ended up in an alleyway behind the school, wondering how much time she had left before she had to get to class.  She scanned her surroundings quickly, determining it would be easiest to head back the way she came and found herself walking into the chest of a tall, blond, green-eyed boy.

To be more specific, a tall, blond, green-eyed boy in black leather.

“Fancy seeing you here, _purr_ -incess.”

It only took her a second to recover from her surprise.

“Chat Noir!  What have I told you about sneaking up on me?”

The hero had the good grace to look sheepish.

“Sorry.  I saw you headed this way and thought I should keep an eye on so in case something happened.”

Marinette gave him a deadpan look.

“Chaton.  What exactly is going to happen to me in an alley behind my school?”

His cheeks tinged pink, and his eyes fell to the ground.

“Well, to be honest, I may have been working up the courage to talk to you when you caught me following you.”

She continued to watch him until he raised his head.

“This is going to sound really stupid,” he warned.

Her eyes narrowed, curiosity taking over.

“Go on.”

“Do you… do you like Luka Couffaine?” he asked with a grimace.

Marinette blinked.  Then she blinked again.

“Chaton, _how long_ have you been watching me?”

“I wasn’t spying on you, I swear! ( _Why do I keep having to say that?_ )” he murmured.  “I was just… in the general vicinity.  I saw Luka approach. He grabbed your hand.  Then that Agreste kid-”

“Adrien.”

“-walked up and put his arm around you.  I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little jealous.”

She pursed her lips, deep in thought, as the boy in front of her waited anxiously for her to say something.

“Do you trust me?” she finally asked.  Chat looked taken aback.

“...What?  Of course I do-”

“Then nothing else matters.  It doesn’t matter if I used to have a little crush on Luka, or that I still have feelings for Adrien- all that matters is if you trust me.”

Chat’s eyes bulged.

“You still have feelings for Adrien?”

Marinette’s mouth opened into a gape, disbelieving that this was happening.

“Are you serious right now? _That’s_ what you got out of that?”

“Princess, please, you have to answer me, and it has nothing to do with me trusting you: do you still have feelings for Adrien Agreste?”

The raven-haired girl stared at her boyfriend, expression hurt and confused.  Why was he making her say this?

“Of course I do, Chat.  Those don’t just go away.”

Why did he look so damn happy?

“Do you think if he accepted your feelings now, you could still be happy with him?”

Her brow lowered deep over her eyes, and she began to back away.

The apparent excitement in Chat’s face faded into confusion.

“Princess?  Where are you going?”

“Is this some sort of joke to you?” she asked, nearly breathless with hurt.

“What?”

The look on his face was completely clueless.

“I don’t think you would try to purposely hurt me, Chat, but don’t you realize that you _are_?  Why are you doing this to me?”

The cat-like pupils in his eyes dilated, his mouth parting in alarm.

“Princess, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-”

Marinette’s upheld hand stopped him mid-apology.

“I think right now I need some space.”

Then she turned to walk further down the alley.

“Princess, _please_ -”

“ _Not now, Chat._ ”  There was some bite to her tone, and it shocked the hero into silence.  She took a breath, her back still turned to him, half of her face visible.  “I’ll see you tonight. The trapdoor will be unlocked.”

Then she walked to the end of the alley and turned the corner, leaving behind the boy who was supposed to be her partner- in more ways than one.

* * *

Chat Noir jumped about aimlessly from rooftop to rooftop.  It had been hours since Marinette left him in the alleyway.  Hours since he let his stupid mouth and his need for reassurance completely throw grenade at his very new, very fragile relationship.

What the hell was he thinking?  Of course Marinette would be hurt.  She had no idea what he was really thinking.  By all appearances, he was inadvertently rubbing her nose in Adrien’s rejection.

If only he could tell her the truth.

Chat released a long sigh, wondering how much longer he could get away with playing the piano concerto on his ipod dock instead of practicing it at the piano like he was supposed to be doing.  He estimated he could sit on this particular roof (conveniently with a distant view of another particular rooftop, complete with a terrace, lounge chair, and string lights) for at least another eight minutes until he had to head home.  Nathalie’s checking on him happened, predictably, like clockwork.

He was about to stand up and stretch his legs (totally not trying to see if Marinette happened to be home, even thought it was a few hours too early), when a familiar zipping sound reached his ears.  His first response was confusion. What was Ladybug doing here? The second was alarm. Was there an akuma he didn’t know about? Horrified he might have left her to fight an akuma on her own, he lifted up his baton and opened the communicator, only to find no missed calls or messages.  Then he was back to confusion, as when he looked up, he realized Ladybug had landed in the alley below him and was looking around as though searching for someone, but no one was around. Her name was on the tip of his tongue when her entire body was overcome with a pink flash of light, so quick, if he blinked, he would have missed it.  And when it was gone, Marinette was left in her place.

Now Chat was really confused.  What was his princess doing there?  What happened to Ladybug? Did she just disappear, and where did Marinette even come from?

It took him probably thirty seconds too long to figure out exactly what had just happened and what it meant, but that can probably be chalked up to denial.

Another thirty seconds later, and long past the time that Marinette disappeared down the alley, walking in the direction of her home, the hero sat there, mouth hanging open, wondering what he was going to say to her when he saw her later that night.

Suddenly, whereas before he couldn’t stay away, he had to be anywhere but there.  Realizing that it was about time for him to head home, the vaulted off the rooftop in the direction of Agreste manor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *nonchalantly throws in some lukanette complications*


	16. The Other Me (And The Other You)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 16: Ghosts
> 
> Chat Noir deals with the revelation of Ladybug's identity.

_The next morning_

Adrien spent the morning going through the motions, getting dressed and ready for school, but his brain was in a fog.  Thoughts of Ladybug and Marinette- of how they were both a _they_ and a single _her_ at the same time- clouded his mind.  He couldn’t stop the mantra playing over and over in his head.

Why?

_Why?_

**_Why?_ **

**_WHY?_ **

Even though he knew the answer, he also didn’t.  He knew why Ladybug wouldn’t tell him who she was: for the same reason she never had.  For her, it was a burden of duty, and he was somehow relieved to know that she applied the rule universally, even if it was frustrating.  Looking back, it made a lot of sense, all those times he found her in the middle of an akuma attack.

But he kept coming back to _why?_  Why did _she_ have to be _her?_  Why was the universe this wonderful, and this cruel?  He had fallen out of love with a woman only to unwittingly fall back in love with her again.  If there was one glaring fact to learn from the entire headache-inducing clusterfuck, it was that he was only capable of loving one woman.

But what was he supposed to do now?  He hated the thought of keeping his revelation a secret from her, but he was also afraid of how she might respond to him knowing who she was.  Would she want him to reciprocate to even the playing field? What if she didn’t want to be with him anymore once she found out he was really Adrien?

Holy shit.  Were they seriously in a convoluted and self-sustaining love square this whole time?

Adrien envisioned a box in which each corner had one of each of their identities, with arrows pointing in the directions of the person they liked.  Pretty quickly, the arrows got confused and crossed over each other until it hurt his brain trying to figure it out.

What a mess they had made of things.

Would revealing themselves make it worse?

Their relationship was so new, and already so vulnerable.  As he made his way toward the chauffeur, Adrien came to a decision.

He couldn’t tell Marinette.

In the car, Nathalie was giving him odd looks.  He knew she could tell something was wrong with him, especially with the weirdly introverted, pensive mood he had been in all morning.  As they sat next to each other on the ride to school, he mused that she was looking him the way she looked at his father’s schedule when there was a conflict, like he was something it was her duty to solve.  But he decided to ignore her blatant study of him, turning his head to look out the window instead.

This definitely wasn’t something he could share… not with anyone.

It was torture sitting in front of Marinette the whole day, knowing she was right behind him- _Oh my God Ladybug is sitting behind me_ \- but unable to turn around and let her know.  Not only did she not know that he knew, but he knew that she didn’t know who he was either.  Just the thought made his head pound. He decided visiting her that evening would have to be good enough.  The dismissal bell couldn’t ring fast enough.

* * *

Walking through the exit doors of the building was like coming up for air.  Adrien practically gasped when he emerged from within. Being Chat Noir was doing a number on him.  In addition to much better sight and sound, he even had heightened _smell_ when he was untransformed, though they weren’t as acute as when he was in the suit.  Which _meant_ that, all day, he had been subjected to not only seeing Marinette everywhere he went (and by extension, Ladybug as well), but also hearing her every exhale, every giggle, even from across the room, and he could _smell_ her- some heavenly scent like flowers and vanilla and strawberry shampoo.  She filled his senses in a way that was like the sweetest kind of suffocation.

Not to mention touch.  On the few occasions they managed to make skin-to-skin contact, some sort of static electricity passed between them, making him startle and jump slightly back.  For one brief, torturous moment, he mused the only thing he couldn’t do was taste her, then promptly had to excuse himself to the restroom to splash his face with cold water and wait for all the blood to rush back away from his head (both of them).

When he finally exited the restroom, she was _right there_ , looking up at him in surprise.  He immediately paled.

“Are you ok, Adrien?” she asked, innocent and concerned.  “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

He mad some nonsensical excuse and bolted for the locker room, taking a seat and hoping to get himself under control.

Now that the day was over, he was free from his haywire emotions, or at least, he was safely out of the public eye in case he had a melt down.

The nervous blond breezed through his homework and extra lessons in practically no time, anxious for the moment when the sun went down and he could finally see his princess and satisfy the itch that had been building up all day in her presence.

At last, he could safely assume no one would bother him for the rest of the night, and quickly called for his transformation, opening up his bedroom window and leaping out into the night.

* * *

Despite his attempts to stay calm, Chat Noir tapped on Marinette’s trapdoor with a little more enthusiasm than he intended to.

A few seconds later, the door flew upward, almost slamming him in the nose if he hadn’t stood back quickly enough.  Standing on the ladder up to the door, the raven-haired girl glared at him.

“Nice of you to show up.”

It took him a moment to realize what she meant, and when understanding dawned on him, his eyes went wide.  Without warning, he threw himself down the opening, taking a squawking Marinette along with him, both of them landing on her mattress.

“Chaton?!  What the hell?!” she demanded, trying but failing to pull his arms off so she could get a look at him.

With his face buried in her neck, he couldn’t let go, but held on tighter.

“Princess,” he said, voice breathless.   _My lady._  “I’m so sorry.”

Marinette quit her efforts to detach him from herself, her brow furrowing at the intensity in his tone.

“I know we had a fight, kitty, but you didn’t have to disappear on my.  I’ve been so worried about you since you didn’t show up last night.”

“I’m sorry,” he murmured into her skin, still clinging to her for dear life.  She didn’t want him knowing who she was, and he would do anything to stay by her side.  “I was so stupid. Please, forgive me.”

He sounded so desperate, she began to wonder what else could be wrong.  He couldn’t be this upset over a stupid little argument, could he?

“Chaton?  Is something else bothering you?  Did something happen?”

Finally he pulled back, albeit slowly, but kept his chin tucked down to his chest, refusing to meet her eyes.

“I don’t want to lie to you, princess.  But I don’t want to tell you either.”

Marinette swallowed nervously.

“Should I… be worried?”   _Not that I’m not already._

Carefully so as not to alarm him, she reached forward and hooked a knuckle under his chin, raising him face to meet her gaze.

“You can tell me anything, kitty.”

He looked hesitant, conflicted for a moment.

“I- I… can’t tell you right now.  Someday, but… not now.”

The noirette stared into his eyes, searching for any indication of just how bad it could possibly be, but all she saw was fear and regret.

Finally, she sighed.

“All right, Chaton.  I’m going to trust you this time, but I want you to know that _no matter what it is_ , you can come to me.”  She reached for his hand, entwining their fingers together.  “You can’t keep things like this to yourself for long. It’s going to eat you up in the end.  What would Ladybug say?”

Chat choked back a chortle, pausing as he considered his response.

“I think she’d say exactly what you’re saying right now.”

Marinette smiled at him- a real, wide, luminous smile, and he could feel his heart hammering against his ribcage.

“Sounds like she knows what she’s talking about.  I think I’d like her.”

Chat couldn’t help but smile back.

“That makes two of us.”


	17. Seeing Double

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 17: Rooftop Save
> 
> Knowing Ladybug's identity has become distracting.

Fighting akumas was suddenly ten times more difficult than it used to be, knowing exactly who was underneath his lady’s mask.  Whereas before she was all nameless hero, now she was not just Ladybug, the strong and fearless, but also Marinette, the very breakable human whom he loved more than he ever thought was possible.

He had no doubt in her abilities, but his role as her living shield just became even more important to him.

Nothing could happen to Ladybug.

And _nothing_ could happen to Marinette.  Ever.

It was the first battle after he found out her identity- just days after, in fact- and it was proving to be a particularly troublesome fight.  He had already used Cataclysm and recharged once, and she had called for her Lucky Charm but ran out of her timer before she had the opportunity to use it.  For the time being, Chat was fighting off the villain of the day, and even though he was struggling, he was more than all right with Marinette taking her time to return- less time that he had to worry about her.

The akuma was chasing him over rooftops, seeming to have an endless reserve of energy, while Chat was starting to feel very tired.  He jumped from one roof to the next, occasionally glancing behind him to make sure the akuma was still in pursuit, doing his best to buy his lady time and keep the akuma from innocent civilians.

As he landed on another roof, a flash of color caught his eye- pink.  Marinette’s iconic pink pants, along with Marinette herself, were just a dozen feet or so away from him.  For a second, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from hers, both of theirs wide with surprise. It was only a second or two of distraction, but it was enough.  

Suddenly the akuma was behind him.  Chat panicked, realizing his mistake as his head whipped frantically around to look again at his fragile, untransformed princess, then began to turn back to fight the villain back and hopefully give her a window for escape, only the akuma had taken advantage of his momentary lapse in focus, and his sight was met with a beam of light directed toward his face.  His pupils blew, jaw dropping in the fraction of a second it took him to calculate the fact he had to time to run. He could see it coming closer, and his only consolation was that it was aimed at _him_ and not _Marinette_.

Nanoseconds before it hit, he felt himself thrown to the side, a tiny, warm, soft but firm body coming to land on top of him.

“Oh, Chat!  I’m so sorry!”

He was a bit dazed by the sudden assault, but in the next instant, he was up on his feet, picking Marinette up bridal style and launching both of them off the roof, the akuma’s frustrated yell echoing behind them.

He jumped relentlessly, faster and harder than he ever had before, desperate to get her to safety.  Where could he leave her? Finally, as they passed over an alley, he noticed an alcove down below, giving one quick look around to make sure nothing was watching them, and dropped to the ground level.

“Princess,” he breathed, lungs expanding and contracting laboriously in his chest from fear and exertion.  He threw his arms around her, pulling her close and nuzzling her hair. The smell of her helped calm his heart until he was ready to pull back.

Once she was in his sights, his narrowed his eyes at her.

“I don’t know whether I should be grateful or angry.”

Marinette stubbornly narrowed her eyes back.  It was so much like looking at Ladybug when she was annoyed, he honestly didn’t know how he missed it for so long.  Chat mentally kicked himself for all the times he brushed off her status as the heroine’s doppelganger as mere coincidence.

“How about you just say thank you and go finish what you started?”

Chat’s jaw ticked, his fingers twitching with conflicting emotions.

He wanted to tell her to never do that again, but who was he kidding?  There was no telling Ladybug _or_ Marinette what to do, and if he tried, she would probably do something even more reckless next time just to prove a point.  They had a short stare down, both with eyes locked and equally determined, before Chat finally gave in.

Without warning, he leaned forward and caught her lips in a kiss, her arms instinctively coming up to curve around his neck as he wrapped his own around her waist, lifting her up and pulling her closer.  He could get lost in this, the feel and taste of her, but in the back of his mind, he knew they both had a job to do.

Much sooner than he would have liked, he was setting her down and pulling away, half-tempted by the full redness of her freshly-kissed, parted lips to dive back in, but knowing there were more important things to take care of.  Instead, he opted to run a gloved thumb over her lower lip, wishing it could be his bare flesh, or better yet, his tongue, then leaned in for one more quick, chaste kiss.

It wouldn’t make sense to tell her to go home, or to stay away.

“Stay safe, princess.  I’ll see you soon.”

Before he could give in to his desire, he turned and jumped back up to the rooftop level, ready to finish this ridiculously infuriating battle so he could go see his princess and finish something _else_ he started.


	18. It Was Always You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 18: Balconies
> 
> Chat finally has time to visit his princess.

It took 3 hours and 48 minutes too long, but Adrien finally made it away from his caretaker’s watchful eye long enough to transform and escape out his bedroom window.  Ever since the akuma was defeated earlier, his mind had been endlessly returning back to Marinette. How she endangered herself to save him- how she kicked the akuma’s ass within a few minutes of returning to battle, giving some excuse about having better things to be doing before swinging away- how she felt and looked and tasted, and how he was practically vibrating out of his skin waiting to see her again.

At long last, the sun went down, his obligations were fulfilled, and he got the ok to turn in for the night.  Of course, he had no intention of going to sleep, at least not yet, and definitely not alone in his bed.

It was refreshing and freeing, the feel of the wind on his face, blowing wildly through his hair.  With every rooftop that brought him closer to Marinette, the adrenaline in his blood continued to increase, sending a pleasing buzz through his body.  Finally, her building was in sight, and it didn’t take him long to notice his princess was waiting for him on the terrace.

Chat did his best to land without a sound and creep up silently behind her, but somehow, she could always feel when he was around.

He stalked closer until he was close enough to put his hands over her eyes and lean in to whisper in her ear: “What a pleasant sur _purr_ ise, _purr_ -incess.”  He could see her smiling as he gazed at her profile, but she made no move to lower his hands.

“Of all the balconies in all the towns in all the world, you land on mine.”

Unable to resist the way her voice tugs at his heart, Chat lowered his hands so he could turn her to face him.

“Are you trying to sweet talk me with movie lines, princess?”

Marinette’s smile widened.

“Coming from the man who tried to woo me with puns, Chaton?”

His mask-covered eyes narrowed, smirk overtaking his features.

“ _Tried_ , princess?  I think I was pretty successful, and I think you like my puns a lot more than you admit.”

The noirette pursed her lips to one side, doing her best to suppress a telling smile.

“Maybe I just took pity on you,” she replied.

Chat’s smirk turned to a grin.

“Either way, they worked.”

The girl rolled her eyes, turning her body so she could lean her back against his chest as his arms dropped low to curl around her stomach in a protective hold.

“You make a good point, though,” he offered after a short comfortable silence, prompting her to do her best to turn up and back to look at him, curious expression on her face.

“Oh?  Is this something new?”

“Brat,” Chat murmured, leaning lower to press a kiss to her temple as she faced the skyline again, humming quietly to herself.  “I _mean_ what you said about how, of all the balconies in Paris, I found yours.”

Marinette’s humming stopped, and he could tell she was listening intently.

“Well,” she said at last, “you _were_ looking for mine, don’t you think?  That’s not exactly fate.”

From his vantage point, he could see her features heating up, hear the slight tremble in her voice, the nervous swallow as she did her best to grapple with the moment.

“Yea, maybe, but even before that, I still found my way here.  Without trying. Every time. I think that says something about destiny, don’t you?”

Chat leaned forward slightly, doing his best to catch her eyes though she was both shorter than him and standing in front of him, facing forward.

There was another moment of silence between them, but it wasn’t exactly awkward, just contemplative.  At last, the hero in black could restrain himself no longer.

“Marinette, do you ever think about what your life might be in a few year?  About what you want, and who you want it with?”

Surprised by the directness of his question, the girl in his arms tilted her head back and to the side to look at him, eyes wide, before facing forward again.

“I… have thought about it before… in the past.  I can’t say the things I imagined back then are the same things I would want in the future, or even now.”

Chat paused, afraid of what her answer might be, then said, “What do you want now?”

“Honestly?”

“Of course, princess.  You can tell me anything.”

The words tasted bitter in his mouth.  At the risk of Marinette saying something he didn’t want to hear, was it really worth the risk?  But he had to know.

“I want… I always wanted a family.  Three kids. A hamster. A career in fashion.  There was a time when I thought I knew who I wanted all that with.  Now? I’m still trying to figure out whether that was all just a childish fantasy, or if it’s something I really want.”

He continued looking out at the skyline, heart turning over in his chest.  These things she wanted- they taunted him, because he could imagine every single one of those things with her- even the hamster.  They would have two boys and a girl, one with hair like his and eyes like hers, and the others maybe the opposite. She would come home from work after a long day, and he would be waiting for her, meal on the table, kids seated and ready to eat, cute little rodent running around the floor in his little exercise ball.  Her gorgeous blue eyes would shine, and his heart would melt. They would eat dinner together, put the kids to sleep, go to bed, and-

He had to stop himself right there.  Chat closed his eyes tightly, his heart beating in time with the rapid pulse in his ears.  He wanted that so much, it hurt.

“Chaton?”

Marinette’s voice brought him out of his thoughts, and he opened his eyes, almost surprised to find her there, so lost had he become in his own fantasy.

“Are you ok?”

There was a second of hesitation, then the flood.

“Princess, I want all of that with you.  I want it so bad. I want the kids, the house, the pets, the home-cooked meals and fights and makeups and late nights watching movies together on the couch, going to sleep in the same bed and waking up to you every morning with you beautiful face looking back at me.  I want walks in the park and dates in the middle of the week because we can’t find a babysitter on the weekends, so we have to leave them with your parents, but they don’t mind because they love having their grandkids over any time they get the chance. I want to see you in a white dress, and walk with you under a shower of rice- but we’d pick it after, of course, because we don’t want to hurt the birds, and more than anything I just want to be able to kiss you and hold you and touch you whenever I want, no gloves or mask in the way, and it doesn’t matter that you know who I am because I’m never going to love anyone else for the rest of my life.”

Marinette stared back at him, mouth completely agape, cheeks flushing a deep crimson.

Chat’s face burned, completely mortified over his inability to control his mouth once it opened, the way he just laid out all his hopes and dreams in front of her like it was the most normal thing, like they hadn’t been dating for only a matter of days or weeks, like he didn’t know exactly who she was and that they were meant to be, and that’s why this whole stupid twist of fate happened in the first place, where they both fell in love separately with both sides of each other.

If only he could Cataclysm the last minute and a half.

“Minou…”  The girl in front of him looked up in awe, and he couldn’t help but swallow in anticipation.

Did he scare her off?  Was she about to break up with him?  Was it too much too soon? More than anything, he was terrified that he just ruined the best thing that ever happened to him.

And then she spoke again.

“I want all of that with you, too.”

... _What?_

Marinette smiled, lifting up a hand to caress his cheek.

“Maybe not the identity thing yet, but when the time comes, I will be so ready to know your real name.”

All the tension in Chat’s body melted, and he felt his entire being slump, almost knocking the petite girl over as he wrapped her up in his arms.

“I love you so much, princess,” he said, voice muffled by her hair.

Her small, delicate hands stroked his back.

“I love you too, Minou.”


	19. High On You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 19: Flowers
> 
> Chat Noir visits his princess but gets something he wasn't expecting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I'm back, on the last day of May! lol. I promise to finish the whole month of prompts, but it won't all be today. I also plan to update Brotherly Love really soon. Thanks for sticking with me! Check out my newest fic, Expectations, too, if you have time!

As Chat dropped down onto Marinette’s balcony, he couldn’t hold back the besotted smile that graced his features.  There was something peaceful and calming about the space she created. It was full of light and flowers, and it was so comforting and welcoming.  The sound of humming floated up to his ears through the trapdoor at his feet, and he leaned in to some particularly alluring-looking flowers and inhaled deeply.

“Chat?”

Marinette lifted the trapdoor, rising up through its opening as Chat’s entire body shuddered, his pupils dilating.

“Chat?” she asked again, frowning in concern when he didn’t turn around.  Suddenly realizing what he was standing in front up, her eyes widened. “Shit!  Chat, look at me!”

She grabbed his arm, almost roughly twisting his entire body around and taking in the glazed look of his eyes, the blown pupils, then huffed in frustration.

“I’m going to kill Alya.”

Marinette began to pull him toward the door, hoping it wouldn’t be too difficult to lower him into her room.

_“Purr-incess?”_

A shiver traced down the girl’s spine at the deep, raspy sound of his voice.  She looked up into his face, catching the way his pupils almost entirely took over the green of his irises.  A hunger entered his face, and he leaned in, nearly bowling Marinette’s small frame over, nuzzling her neck with all of his 77 kilograms resting against her.  She stumbled back, barely managing to maintain her balance.

“ _Shit_ ,” she murmured.  “Chat. _Chat._ ”  

But the hero didn’t respond.  His hands started to roam and knead at her hips, and she turned her head as best she could without disrupting their precarious position, calculating whether or not she could flip him over and down through the opening without injuring him.  All her estimations concluded he would probably sustain some sort of head injury. There was only one way to get him to listen. Marinette took a deep breath to abate her irritation, then plunged.

“ _Oh, kitty_ ~” she purred in her best attempt at a seductive voice.  She was rewarded with a nip to the neck, causing her to jump at the sudden fire that spread through her veins.  Her eyes closed momentarily, but she had to keep a level head. Resolved, she pressed on. “ _Minou~”_ she said in her best alluring, breathy voice, internally cringing, “ _can you take me to bed?  I’m so tired~_ ”

The man attached to her neck drew back, lower jaw lacks in his aroused state.  Then without a word, he lifted her in his arms, causing her to squeak. Her front rested against his front, her legs wrapped around his waist, and he cradled her from behind.  Possessively, he nipped her jaw, walking toward the entrance to her room as he growled into her neck, “ _Mine._ ”

She held on tight, hearing the trapdoor as it dropped shut behind them.  The next thing she knew she was flat on her back on the bed, hair splayed out around her head, arms spread out on either side of her.  In the next second, Chat was leaning over her, crawling on his hands and knees as he inched closer and closer to her face.

Marinette swallowed, rubbing her knees together as she fought her body’s reaction to the sight.

 _He’s high!_ she kept telling herself over and over again.   _He doesn’t really know what he’s doing!_

What she wanted was to pull him down and crash their lips together, check to see just how far that zipper really went, and allow him to rut against her like a cat in heat.

What she had to do, however, was keep a level head and protect him from himself while he was without control of his actions.

“Chat,” she tried, tone much more assertive than before.  “You’re high on catnip. Why don’t you lie down with me and sleep it off?”

His eyes followed the movement of her lips as she spoke, then drifted lower down her body as he licked his own.  Slowly, he lowered his head, Marinette’s eyes fluttering in anticipation. When their lips met, it was less fire and more a low, languid burn.  She lifted her arms, wrapping them around his neck, as his own found her hips again.

 _This.  Just this.  Nothing more_ , she told herself, relishing in the smooth texture of his tongue, the warm pressure of his lips, the pleasing sensation of his hands gliding smoothly, firmly, possessively up and down her sides.  When his kisses became more frantic, more demanding, and he began pressing her hips down instead of lovingly caressing them, she pushed him back, breaking the contact between their lips so that he was forced away with a wet sound.  Marinette swallowed, resisting the urge to pull him back in.

“Kitty.  No more,” she commanded, and he hovered there for a moment staring at her, but she knew, even in this haze of intoxication and lust, he would heed her boundaries.  It was with an almost adorable pout that he broke their eye contact, his ears visibly flattening on his head. She smirked, suppressing a chuckle, and drew a finger down the side of his cheek until it reached beneath his chin, forcing him to meet her gaze again.  If he hadn’t given her kitten eyes before, he sure as hell was giving them to her now. “Cuddle me, kitty.”

The command no sooner left her lips than his whole body weight flopped down on her, forcing out an exhale, a purr roaring to life in his chest like a motor.  Only startled for a second, she sucked another breath in, with a bit of effort, then laughed as the big, blond furry on top of her curled his limbs around her and hugged her close, nuzzling her neck with his face.  She reached up a hand, twisting their bodies so that they were side by side instead of his entire weight resting on her, and ran her fingers soothingly through his hair.

“Goodnight, kitty.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Btw, she's mad at Alya because she gifted the catnip to Marinette as a joke. I'll reference it later.


	20. Who Do You Think You're Fooling?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 20: Pranks
> 
> Marinette has a talk with her mother, and Chat Noir wakes up confused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS FIC IS NOT DEAD, PEOPLE! IT IS ALIVE!
> 
> Marichat May lives! I'm sorry it took me so long to update this, but I promise that I fully intend to finish all the prompts of May until the story is done. I just had several other fics in addition to traveling and summer courses that have taken up my time. If you've been waiting for an update, I thank you sincerely! Please enjoy this return to my favorite corner of the square.

Marinette was awoken by the feeling of something soft dragging over her skin.  When her eyes blinked open, heavy with sleep, it was the silhouette of her mother that greeted her sight, and she was laying a blanket over Marinette and Chat Noir, who were still lying, tangled up together, on top of her bed.

“Maman?” slightly alarmed and still a bit disoriented, the girl sat up quickly, causing the blanket that had been laid across her shoulders to fall to her lap.

“Shh,” the older woman shushed her, raising a finger to her lips.  With a slight tick of the head, she indicated for them both not to disturb the boy who was sleeping very few feet away.

As silent as she could, Marinette extracted herself from Chat’s embrace so she could climb out of the bed.  As though offended by her sudden departure, the unconscious hero frowned, his arms reaching out to search for her retreating body.  She grabbed the pillow she had been sleeping on and placed it between his arms. He hugged it tight to his chest, inhaling her scent on its cover, and smiled.  The girl shook her head fondly at his actions, but turned anyway and walked quietly toward the trap door leading down, where her mother was standing and waiting.

The two of them descended to the main level, a kitchen light flickering on as Marinette found a seat at the head of the table.  Her mother stood at the stove, facing away, placing kettle with water in it on a burner for tea. This done, she took a seat next to her daughter, and waited.

“Maman, I’m sorry.  I meant to text you, but I was distracted and then I forgot.”

The small Chinese woman simply nodded, her hands clasped together, fingers intertwined, and leaning against one of her own cheeks.

“You’re always very good about giving me a heads up when Chat visits, so I’ll let it go this time, but I can’t deny that I’m concerned.  Shouldn’t a boy his age be at home at this hour? Don’t his parents even realize he’s missing?”

Marinette couldn’t help but look away, half out of shame that she, on more than one occasion, disappeared in the middle of the night to battle an akuma, and her parents were none the wiser, and half out of concern, since the very same thought had occurred to her multiple times when Chat showed up at odd times of day, often staying for extended periods of time.

She inhaled deeply, then sighed.

“I don’t think anyone really pays that much attention to him, to be honest,” she finally answered.  “From what I’ve seen, and how often he comes around, I get the feeling that, most of the time, whoever his family is, they don’t even think about where he is or what he’s doing, almost like they don’t even notice he’s gone.”  Tears pricked her eyes. “He seems so lonely sometimes, maman.”

Sabine remained quiet for several moments, her own thoughts running along the same vein.

“Is there a special reason he’s stayed here tonight?” she eventually asked.  “I don’t think he’s ever been her this late before, or stayed overnight. Won’t someone realize he’s missing in the morning?”

Marinette looked at her lap sheepishly, one half of her mouth curling into humorless grimace.

“About that- he might be kind of... high.”

When she raised her head, she found her mother’s expression surprised, eyebrows raised.  The tea kettle began to whistle lowly, so she stood up and walked toward the cupboard, pulling the kettle off the hot burner and turning off the gas in the process.

“It’s just-” Marinette went on, then paused.  “It’s not really his fault.”

Her mother continued to prepare tea in two separate mugs, only her back visible, but said nothing.

“You see, Alya gave me this plant.  Catnip. This is going to sound totally bizarre, but he took one whiff of it, and he was gone.”

Sabine remained silent, turning with two steaming mugs of tea in each hand, and rejoined her daughter at the table.

“I was worried what might happen to him if he tried to go home like that, so I made him go to sleep.  You know the rest. I forgot to let you know he was here, and that he wouldn’t be leaving for a while.”

“So-” the older woman raised a mug to her lips, blowing softly at the hot liquid within.  “-is this some sort of prank gone wrong?” Then she took a careful sip and set the mug back down.

“No!” Marinette practically cried before remembering it was late and there were two other individuals sleeping in the house.  Then, quieter, “Alya didn’t mean any harm. I bet she never intended for his to smell it, much less knew it would affect him that way.  It was more like a joke, to tease me.” Her fingers fiddle with the rim and the handle of the mug in front of her.

“Oh?”  Sabine took another small sip.  “Does Alya know something I don’t?”

Marinette couldn’t help the blush that bloomed in her cheeks.  She dropped her gaze, unable to meet her mother’s eyes as she admitted, “Chat and I... we’re sort of a thing.  For a few weeks now.”

A light chuckle caused her to lift her head up, and she was surprised to find her mother laughing quietly.

“Oh, honey,” she said, “do you really think we didn’t know?”

The younger girl sat there for a minute, mouth parted in surprise.

“Well... yes?”

Sabine laughed a little more, shaking her head and lifting her mug back to her lips.

“Oh, dear.  That’s sweet.”

“Wha- but-”

The quiet clatter of the mug hittle the tabletop shut up the inarticulate girl.

“You come home upset and rejected one day, Chat Noir visits you that night, and the next day you’re as happy as can be?  Sweetheart, just how slow do you think your old parents are?”

Marinette stared off into space.  When she heard it that way, it sounded astonishingly simple.  She felt foolish.

“I’m... sorry for not actually telling you sooner.  I just thought, such a relationship was already risky enough, and it would only be dangerous to tell anyone about it.”  For the first time since it was set in front of her, Marinette took a drink from her tea.

“Those are remarkably good points, honey, but never underestimate how much we want to protect you.  Hell, your father was even akumatized over it.”

A heaviness settled in Marinette’s stomach.

“That’s... part of what I was afraid of.  I’d never want something to happen to either of you because of me.  If someone else heard about how close Chat is to us, it might make us targets.”

Sabine smirked, then lifted up the mug again before drinking and setting it back down.

“Well, then.  I guess it’s just something that we’ll have to keep a secret, won’t we?”

Their talk went on until the mugs were empty and the sun was already beginning to light the sky.  Just as Tom was coming out, eyes still droopy with sleep, Marinette was putting their dirty dishes into the kitchen sink.

“Morning, papa,” she greeted, then turned to give her mother a kiss on the cheek as he looked at her in shock.  “Good night, maman.”

Sabine smiled.

“Good night, sweetheart.”

Tom looked back and forth between them in confusion, but whether he asked his wife what was going on, Marinette didn’t know.  She headed up the stairs immediately after that, rising up through the trapdoor as a faint glow began to filter in through her small windows.

Chat still lie asleep on his back in the bed, the pillow hugged tightly in one arm, the other sprawled out to the opposite side of his body.  Both his legs were curled up and to one side.

She couldn’t help the fond smile that lit her face as she climbed as quietly as she could up the ladder and onto the mattress, doing her best not to wake him.  As it was, when she removed the pillow from his arms and lay herself down in its place, he brought the errant limb over and around herk pulling her tight into his chest as he grunted near her ear.  Clutched to his body, she could hear a low rumble begin to vibrate within his ribcage.

“Mmm,” he hummed, then buried his nose in her hair.  “So soft.”

A little chuckle rose up in Marinette chest, causing her to shake slightly.  Chat’s hold on her tightened.

“My princess,” he mumbled, incoherent.

The girl leaned her head back as much as possible, trying to see past the chin of stubble to the mask-covered face, but failing.

“Yes,” she whispered, placing a kiss to said stubbly chin.  “Your princess.”

Chat shifted a bit more around her, then exhaled deeply and rolled over onto his back again.  With a better view of his face, Marinette could see his fair lashes fluttering, then lifting up slowly to unveil the green eyes hidden underneath.  They closed again in the next moment, a smile stretching across his features, but in the next instant, that smile was gone, and his eyes were wide open.

“Shit!” he exclaimed, bolting upright.  

Two frantic hands reached up to touch his mask, and he exhaled in apparent relief to find his mask was still in place.  Marinette slowly sat up beside him. As if beckoned by her movement, he turned to face her.

“What uh... when did I get here?  I mean-” he shook his head as though to clear it “-I don’t remember laying down, or falling asleep.  I just remember arriving, and then nothing.”

Marinette cringed guiltily, subconsciously rubbing a hand over his back.

“Chat, for future reference- don’t smell catnip.”

He looked at her in confusion before reaching out for his communicator, which was halfway tucked under some messy sheets, and checking the time.  Then, he looked back at her.

“I feel like there’s probably a story there that I should know, but for now, I have to get home before Na- anyone notices I’m missing.”

With that, he placed a quick kiss on her cheek and climbed up the ladder and through the hatch.  Marinette followed behind, but only so far as she was half-way through the opening. The sky was a light pink, still dusted with the clouds of the night.  The air was quite chill, so much so that she reached for a blanket and pulled it around her shoulders, hugging it tight. Chat Noir was holding his baton in hand, ready to vault away.

“Chat-” she called, but stopped, her breath leaving a haze of fog in the crisp air.

He turned toward her before crossing the two or three steps between them, bending at the waist, and placing a firm kiss on her lips.  It was too brief, though, and she nearly chased his lips with hers when he pulled away.

“I love you, princess,” he said when he had reached the railing again.  With the press of a button, the baton extended halfway. “I’ll see you soon.”  Then he was rising quickly up and up, and then he was disappearing in the distance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope to finish this month-themed story within the next few days or weeks if necessary. If you like this story, this chapter, and look forward to more, please leave kudos or a comment!
> 
> <3 Muse


	21. Crash Into Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 21: Cold Night   
> Day 22: Sick  
> Day 23: Pillows and Blankets  
> Day 24: Nap Lap
> 
> Marinette falls asleep on her balcony waiting for Chat, so he decides to tuck her into bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't usually combine prompts, but these 4 are so closely related, I went ahead and did it. 4 prompts down in one go! lol
> 
> Thanks for reading ^_^
> 
> <3 Muse

“Come on, princess.  You can’t sleep out here.  It’s a cold night, and you’ll get sick.”

Marinette startled awake, mildly surprised to find herself curled up inside a blanket on the chair atop her roof.  It only took a few more seconds for her to recall that she had come up sometime around dusk with a cup of tea and a comfy blanket to wait for Chat, then must have obviously fallen asleep in the process.  It was late twilight, almost dark outside, the last rays of the sun barely scattering across the upper atmosphere. She gave her head a shake to wake herself up before attempting to stand.

Chat beat her to it, though, pulling her up swiftly but carefully by the elbows until her bundled form was pressed against his front.  Despite the chill in the air, her cheeks felt warm.

“I must have fallen asleep waiting for you,” she offered, ignoring the way her heart beat a little harder with his proximity.  The man in front of her growled lowly, sending a shiver down her spine.

“You know,” he said, leaning in to whisper in her ear.  His breath was warm and tingly compared to the brisk night.  “If you don’t take better care of yourself, I’m going to have to do it for you.”

“What do you meAN!”

Before she could finish the question, she was being lifted into the air in a princess carry, causing her last word to come out in a surprised yelped.

“Chat!” she whisper-shouted.  “Put me down, I can walk!”

Looking up at the person carrying her, she caught a mischievous smirk lighting up his face.  He narrowed his eyes at her as he walked them toward the hatch.

“Oh, are you sure?  In all those blankets?  You know how clumsy you are, princess.  I wouldn’t risk tripping and falling if I were you.”

By then, he was already standing next to the door at their feet, but still he did not let her down.

Marinette thrust out a pouting lip.

“Ha ha.  How creative, teasing me about my lack of coordination- real original.  I thought you said I was graceful?”

Chat’s lips began to split as he smiled in amusement.

“You are.  You make falling look so elegant.”

She huffed, crossing her arms as best she could underneath her cocoon, but chose not to respond.

“You can’t carry me down the stairs like this.  You have to put me down.”

Chat only smiled before he let go of her legs, supporting her back as she more or less gained her footing.  Still bundled up, she reached out through the gap where the two halves met and pulled open the hatch, clutching both ends to her neck and walking carefully down the steps.  She barely made it to the loft level before she was tackled onto the bed.

“Oof!”

Her breath was momentarily forced out of her from the jolt, but within seconds, she was giggling.  Positioned over her, supporting himself on his hands and knees, Chat grinned widely, his white teeth and radioactive green eyes glowing in the darkness.  Somewhere a little higher, a mop of messy blond tresses hovered above her forehead.

But in the next moment, he was rising up, grasping her and turning her from side to side, sometimes lifting her up, then setting her back down.  Before she knew it, Marinette was wrapped up tightly in a burrito of pillows and blankets. And while she didn’t necessarily like not being able to move (because, assuredly, she could not), she had to admit the way he had swaddled her was actually quite comfortable.

A low chuckle sounded from above, and Marinette blinked.

“I’m sorry~” he said, laughter in his voice, “it’s just you look so cute like that~”

“Mm,” she hummed noncommittally, unwilling to admit she wasn’t annoyed in the least.

“Hold on,” he said, crawling over to the side table and grabbing her phone.  “Let me text your mom that I’m here before you forget again.”

She rolled her eyes, but smiled a little anyway.  He fiddled with the device for a moment before making his way back to her side.

“Come here,” he commanded, then crawled toward the head of the bed and lifted her up slightly until he could spread his legs on either side of her.  When he set her down again, her head was resting on one of his thighs. Claws began to drag gently over her scalp, and she could feel him threading his fingers through her hair.

“I’ve always wanted to do this,” he admitted quietly, the pitch of his voice falling a few octaves.

Marinette’s brow furrowed in slight confusion.

“Play with my hair?”

Chat chuckled a little.

“Yea.  Your hair is so beautiful.  It’s like the midnight sky. I’ve always wondered what it would feel like to touch it.”  He paused for a moment. “I just wish I could actually feel it through these gloves.”

The girl-burrito thought for a moment.

“Can you not take them off?”

“No, not that I’ve ever tried.  To even try, I’d have to take off my ring first.  Doesn’t make it very plausible.”

Marinette did her best to lift her chin in an effort to look at his face.

“What about your other hand?  The one without the ring?”

It was difficult to see in the dark, but her vision by then had adjusted enough to detect the way Chat frowned.  His fingers paused their movement as he seemed to consider that.

He suddenly pulled his right hand away from her head, then used it to lift the cuff around his left wrist.

“No,” he finally said, slumping a bit at the shoulders.  “There’s no break in whatever material this is. Not even a seam.”

Marinette averted her eyes back to the ceiling, mouth quirking in disappointment.  Then an idea occurred to her. It went against everything she had always said as Ladybug, but still she couldn’t stop herself from voicing it out loud.

“Why don’t you... detransform?”

The silence following her question was deafening, yet her gulp after she said those words seemed to reverberate throughout the room.

“...What?”

“I- I’ll close my eyes,” she rushed to reassure him, ignoring the fire burning in her cheeks.  “I just meant- ah, it was stupid, forget it.”

“Princess,” he whispered reverently.

She simply swallowed, but didn’t respond, feeling stupid and unsure what to say.

There were a few moments where neither of them moved, barely even breathed.  Chat’s mind raced, as did hers. It wouldn’t be the first time he laid his identity at her feet for the taking, nothing more than trust to protect him from being exposed.  After all, he had approached her at the mask without being disguised.

But that was something different.  Even then, he had a mask to hide behind.  She was turned away from him, preventing her from seeing him unless she consciously chose to.

Now, though.  He was here in her room, and if he dropped his transformation, he would be completely unmasked, with only her closed eyelids as a barrier between his identity and her knowing.  And if she opened them by accident, or for any reason, there would be no way for him to hide.

And from the way he could see her blush in the dark, he knew she was embarrassed for even suggesting it.

He had to decide then how much he trusted her.

A gloved hand came up to cover her eyes, and Marinette frowned.

“Chat?”

“Don’t open your eyes.”  Then, he quietly uttered, “Plagg, claws in,” and a fizzle of magic surged over her body in a wave, the bright green of his transformation practically blinding her for a nanosecond before it disappeared.  She could feel then the flesh of his fingers, the warmth of his skin, and then they were gone, replaced by the coolness of the air. She didn’t dare open her eyes.

Tense seconds followed before a bare hand found its way gingerly into her hair.  She could almost taste the hesitation, the way his movements stuttered, the tremble in his extremity.  Slowly, carefully, he dove further, growing bolder until both hands were fully submerged in her blue-black tresses.  The pads of his fingers massaged against her scalp, sending electric tingles throughout her body. Unintentionally, Marinette moaned.

Suddenly, Chat’s hands stopped.

Realizing what she had done, the noirette flushed deep scarlet, wishing her hands were free to cover her face.  But almost as quickly as he stopped, he started again, even more earnestly. Still, her eyes remained closed.

“Chat,” she groaned in a voice that, if she were less relaxed, would make her feel embarrassed, “if you keep doing that, I’m going to fall asleep again.”

There was a low laugh somewhere above her head, and she mused that she could hear his smile in the sound of it.

“You can take a nap in my lap any time you want to.”

The way he said it sounded so suggestive, Marinette had to resist the urge to open her eyes.  It was a dangerous thing knowing that, if she did, she would know exactly who was this man who had stolen her heart.  She couldn’t describe what it meant to her that he trusted her enough not to look, to let him reveal himself when they both decided it was the right time.  But she wanted to try.

“Chat-” she began, her voice breaking.

“Shh,” he shushed her, and she realized that both his hands had come to cup either side of her face.  There was some shifting underneath her, and she could feel warm breath on her face. “I know, princess.  I know.”

The breath fanning her forehead migrated down to her eyes, then her nose, before coming to a stop over her lips.  Marinette’s own breath caught, but released like a river behind a broken damn as soon as she felt his lips crash into hers.


	22. The Secrets Between Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 25: Puss in Boots  
> Day 26: Fencing  
> Day 27: Protecting You  
> Day 28: Secrets
> 
> Marinette makes a joke about her boyfriend, and Chat Noir is a pouty kitty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *casually updates MM and Expectations in the same day*
> 
> please enjoy this slightly angsty installment
> 
> (4 days condensed into one)

Marinette peered at the book in front of her with a frown, pencil poised in her hand and ready to write on the piece of notebook paper right next to it, if only she could figure out how the hell to solve the physics equation in the first place.

Blowing a frustrated raspberry, she looked up and around, pondering whether or not she might just as well give up for the night and ask for Adrien’s help with the homework in the morning.

Just then, a little thud sounded above her head.  Decision made for her, she slammed her book shut and turned to the ladder in time to see the hatch in her ceiling lift up, Chat Noir’s head peeping in through its opening.

From his crouched position, golden locks falling in front of his glowing green eyes, he was… well, to be honest, he was adorable.  Like a little kitten mewing in the doorway. Then he caught sight of her at her desk, and his face split with a grin.

“Evening,  _ purr _ -incess,” he greeted, only then beginning to descend on the rungs of the ladder.

Marinette watched him from her seat, taking a deep breath to quell the way her heart pounded in her chest at the sight of him.  They had made a lot of progress in the last several weeks, getting quite a bit closer, both emotionally and physically, to the extent she was beginning to wonder how much longer her parents would tolerate them being alone in her room together, especially after dark.

Once he reached the bottom of the ladder, the boy in the leather catsuit prowled closer to her, narrowing his eyes the entire way.  He stopped in front of her chair, close enough that she was forced to tilt her head back to look at him- at least, that is, until he bent over at the waist, resting two palms on either armrest of the desk chair and lowering his head down until they were nearly nose to nose.

The intensity of his eyes sent a shiver through Marinette’s body.

“So,  _ purr _ -incess,” he purred lowly.  The girl’s eyes drifted down to his lips, which were so close to her own.  He paused, shifting enough so that he could whisper in her ear. “Care to tell me... what you meant by ‘Puss in Boots?’”

Her eyes widened in surprise, followed by a snort and a giggle she just couldn’t control.  Chat Noir drew back again to look her in the face once more as she lifted a hand to smother the rather ungracious laughter emanating from her throat.  He narrowed his eyes at her own, which were practically sparkling with mirth.

“Something funny, my darling dear?” he asked, voice barely managing to conceal the dry sarcasm.

It was several seconds before Marinette composed herself enough to lower her hand, and even then, a few titters still escaped.

“Sorry, Chat,” she finally managed.  “It was just a joke, I swear.”

Despite her best efforts, her face continued to quirk and contort with suppressed laughter.

The handsome blond in front of her pursed his lips appraisingly before straightening and moving to the nearby chaise.  He sat down, one ankle crossed over the opposite knee, forearms crossed over his chest, and watched her.

“Oh?” was all he said.

Marinette tried her best to calm down, eventually succeeding in schooling her features.  Her hands clasped in her lap from the effort.

With her best look of contrition, she said, “Alya posted some photos from the akuma the other day when you were fencing with your baton.  Someone commented online about you being a fourth musketeer.” Here, she tittered again. “I said, it’s more like Puss in Boots.” She broke down into another fit of giggles, which Chat only observed, less than amused.

At last, she stemmed the chuckles, seeing the expression on her boyfriend’s face.

“Aww, Chat,” she said, standing up and walking over to sit beside him on the chaise.  “I didn’t mean to make fun of you. It was just a joke, that’s all. I think quite a lot about you.”

He didn’t look at her, though, so she placed a hand on either side of his face and manually turned his head sideways to face her.  A pouting expression stared back at her.

“You know,” she continued, “if it makes you feel better, Adrien thought we should give you more credit than that, and I happen to agree.”

Chat tensed in her hands, causing her to frown.

“You know,” she said again, much more pensively this time, “I’m not really sure how you would have heard about this, and I’m afraid to ask.”

His expression softened some, losing its mock-pout and taking on more of a sadness.  One gloved hand came up to cup her cheek just before he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her lips.

“I wish I could tell you, but protecting you is way more important to me.”

An uneasiness settled in Marinette’s stomach as her mind involuntarily raced and tried to rationalize the circumstance.  She knew he was close, but she didn’t know how much, and it felt like every day, there was something new that was pointing her toward a conclusion that was becoming more and more difficult to ignore.

She couldn’t help it.

“You’re in my class, aren’t you?  Unless someone told you I said that, there’s no other way you could have known.”

His glowing eyes looked back at her, but he remained silent.  It was as good as confirmation, and she couldn’t decide how to feel about that.

Marinette leaned in and rested her forehead against his, closing her eyes.

“I want to know, but I don’t,” she whispered to the space between them.  “Why do I get the feeling you’re keeping more than secrets from me?”

The pressure and warmth against her skin disappeared for a second, replaced by something softer.  The quiet sound of his kiss echoed loudly in her ears. Then, she felt the hardness of his jaw and he tucked her head into his neck and pulled her close, placing another kiss on the crown of her head.

His deep sigh felt like air escaping from a pressurized container underneath her ear.

“When you want to know, you’ll know.  I’ll be waiting.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the last angsty chapter (most likely) before we get closer to the conclusion of this year's Marichat May <3
> 
> Muse


	23. Do You Trust Me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 29: Werecat  
> Day 30: Prey/Hunt  
> Day 31: Supernatural Creatures
> 
> Marinette has a confrontation with Lila, and Chat stops in for a visit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final installment of Marichat May, y'all, and it's a longer one! Thanks for sticking with me this far. I hope you enjoy!

“Aww, come  _ on _ , Marinette.  I know you don’t really care that much for Lila, but seriously, this weird grudge between the two of you has got to end already.”

The noirette peered out from beneath her bangs at her best friend, who was slurping a smoothie on the other side of an outdoor cafe table.

“Besides,” the redhead continued, waving her hand flippantly and arching an eyebrow, “we both know you’re already in some sort of relationship with a certain black cat, so I don’t get why you’re so upset now that Adrien has started dating Lila.”

Marinette clenched her teeth and took a deep breath for calm.  With a surprisingly steady voice, she said, “Alya, I already told you: I’m not jealous.  It doesn’t change the fact that I know she’s lying. Adrien would  _ never _ date her.  He wouldn’t go near her if she didn’t stop clinging to him like a parasite every opportunity she got.”

Despite her control, there was a certain amount of vitriol dripping in her words, causing Alya’s eyebrows to shoot up toward her hairline.

“That’s a pretty substantial claim to make, Marinette, and, quite frankly, it’s a little vicious.  I’m surprised at you. You never used to talk about  _ anyone _ that way.  Why do you hate her so much?”

The dark-haired girl rose up from her place, gathering her trash and scrunching it in a hand while sliding her purse strap over the opposite shoulder.

“I don’t hate her,” she answered steadily.  “I hate what she does and what she represents.  You said yourself that I've never acted like this toward anyone else before.  Maybe instead of asking me why, you should consider that yourself.”

With that, she turned and walked away from the table, tossing her trash into the waste bin on the way.

It had been about a week since Chat Noir showed up on her roof, asking about her Puss in Boots comment.  Leading up to that point, she had begun noticing some coincidences that were getting difficult to brush off.  But after that night, they started building up exponentially to the point she was having a harder time convincing herself that she  _ didn’t _ know who Chat Noir was than that she  _ did. _

And then Chat said he had to go out of town for his father’s business, and Adrien also happened to be going somewhere outside of Paris for a shoot, and if that wasn’t enough, Lila used the opportunity of Adrien’s absence to declare to everyone that they had been secretly dating for several weeks already.  Nevermind that the blond wasn’t there to defend himself, or even to  _ confirm _ it, though she knew that was impossible.  Everyone believed her anyway.

Nevermind that Lila was a snake and a liar, and had everyone but Marinette and Adrien fooled.  In all the time that Lila had been prowling through the same hallways they walked every day, even Ladybug in civilian form couldn’t convince a single one of their classmates just how devious and manipulative that akuma volunteer was.  But Marinette always consoled herself that, even if her lies were outrageous and sometimes flabbergasting, they had never adversely affected her. At least, Lila had never dared to lie about Marinette herself. The furthest Lila ever ventured was to insinuate that her arch nemesis was a bit of a bully.

But now-  _ now _ , Marinette felt like Lila had finally stepped over the ultimate boundary.  Regardless of what kind of relationship she herself had with Adrien, Lila’s declaration that they were “completely in love with each other” made her seriously consider using her own alter ego as a way of giving Hawkmoth’s favorite civilian a beat down.  And to top it off, if what Marinette was afraid to hope was true really was, then she had even more reason to loathe the girl she could only equate with scum.

With these thoughts swirling through her mind, the out of uniform heroine made her way back to campus.  After retrieving her books from her locker, she caught the sound of Alya laughing somewhere nearby, and, hoping to avoid her for the time being, she quickly exited the locker room and entered the closest girls’ restroom.

The sound of her books landing on the countertop echoed loudly throughout the tiled space.  Arms free, Marinette rested both her hands on the linoleum surface by the palms and sighed, her head drooping forward as she collected herself.  She wasn’t standing there for more than a few seconds before the whooshing sound of the door opening rustled past her ears, but she didn’t bother to look up, electing instead to wash her hands in the sink as a pretense.  Then, she heard a click.

Marinette turned at the sound, only to see Lila standing beside the door, fingers still grasping the lock.  The hair on her forearms and the back of her neck stood on end.

“Well, well, well,” the newly arrived girl drawled.  Her hips swayed as she slowly stalked closer. “Look what the cat dragged in.”  Her face contorted in mock sympathy. “What’s the matter, Marinette? Not getting along with your friends lately?”  Here she sighed dramatically, and she shook her head with fake pity. “I wish I could help you, but you know, it’s really hard to be friends with a girl who gets so irrationally jealous, e _ spec _ ially over a guy who wouldn’t give her the time of day.”

Marinette gave a short, dry laugh.

“Coming from the one who can’t get him to come within ten feet of her unless she suctions herself to his arm, that’s hilarious.”

Lila’s face flashed briefly with rage, but quickly transitioned into a neutral expression.

“Marinette, honey, envy isn’t a good look on you.  If you’re not careful,” she warned, a sly smirk beginning to lift one corner of her lips, “you’ll lose everyone you care about.”

The noirette simply looked at her for a moment, expression unreadable.  Then, she took a step closer, cutting the distance between them in half.  From this spot, she could see the golden flecks in Lila’s olive green eyes.

“I’ve told you before, Lila, and I’ll tell you again.  Whatever you think you can do to take away my friends, bring it on.  At the end of the day, liars are liars, and no matter how good an actress you think you are, someday, you’re going to slip, and then everyone will see what a hideous face you really have hiding underneath.”

Lila’s eyes narrowed, and a growl began low in her throat.  Her upper lip curled into a snarl.

“Keep dreaming, Dupain- _ Cheng _ ,” she spat, crossing the final step between them until they were nose to nose.  “Adrien has always been and always will be  _ mine _ , and there’s nothing you can do to change that.”

Marinette scoffed disbelievingly.

“You seriously think he wants anything to do with you?  When he gets back and hears about the delusional things you’ve been telling everybody, there’s no way he’s just going to go along with your crazy, restraining order worthy scheme.  Everyone’s going to find out what kind of person you really are.”

The brunette pulled back with a smirk, lifting up her phone in one hand.

“Don’t you worry your pretty little head about that.  A few well-timed photos along with a story about Adrien Agreste’s secret love is going to hit the headlines tomorrow, and that gorgeous, spineless man will feel so sorry for dragging me into the tabloid spotlight that he’ll be too focused on protecting me from public backlash to worry about a silly little rumor in school.  By then, it will only be a matter of time before he gives into his own natural desires. He is, after all, a man, and men are oh so weak when it comes to temptation. He’ll be putty in my hands.”

It took all of Marinette’s strength not to wind back and punch Lila Rossi in her face.  Both fists clenched at her sides with the effort, and she narrowed her eyes at the girl in front of her.

“Let’s get this straight, you crazy bitch: Adrien is not and never will be yours.  And frankly, whether or not he ever was going to see me as anything more than a friend, it doesn’t matter.  He is one of my closest friends, and I would  _ never _ let someone like you trick him into whatever toxic, damaging kind of situation you are trying to orchestrate.  And you know what else? Adrien may be beautiful, but he is so much more than that. He’s one of the best humans I’ve ever known, and he’s way too good for a manipulative psycho like you.  And what’s more, Adrien may not be perfect, but he isn’t spineless. He’s just too good and too polite to lower himself to your level. But guess what.  _ I’m _ not.  So watch out.  And  _ stay away _ from Adrien Agreste.”

Lila laughed as though she found Marinette’s words amusing, but there was a definite fire blazing in her eyes.

“Perhaps you should be thinking more about how to get him to stay away from  _ me _ ,” she drawled, stepping forward enough to force Marinette to retreat back a bit.  “Adrien already can’t get enough of me,” she continued to lie, tossing her hair behind a shoulder and stepping forward again.  Marinette took another step back. “And don’t get me started on  _ you. _ ”  A single, sharp fingernail jabbed into Marinette’s shoulder beneath the collarbone.  “Adrien told me he could never think of you romantically, even if he had no other options.  I mean,” she laughed lowly, “it isn’t  _ my  _ fault you’re not  _ fuckable _ .”

The advancing girl stopped in place, one hand on her hip, elbow jutting out to the side.

She knew the words weren’t true, but Marinette felt her face flame all the same.  Standing in front of her, Lila sneered.

“Maybe if you’re lucky, someday I’ll toss you my sloppy seconds.”

Marinette’s temperature flew through the roof, but not for the reason her enemy suspected.  She didn’t particularly care whether or not Adrien thought of her that way, because as far as she was concerned, thinking of Adrien along lines that were anything more than friendly was not only wrong, it was objectification.  Hearing someone  _ talk _ about him that way exploded every boundary she had.  Her nostrils flared from a particularly harsh exhale, and she began to advance against the brunette, who retreated unsteadily.

“Take this as my only warning, Lila.  I’ve been patient up to now, but if you ever speak about Adrien disrespectfully in front of me again, I won’t hesitate to wipe that nauseating look right off your face, and believe me when I tell you, you won’t enjoy the way I choose to do it.”

And with that, Marinette marched right around the dumbstruck girl, snatched her books up from the counter, flipped the lock, and walked right out the door.

As she travelled down the hall, barely even catching the short bell that rang, signally the end of lunch, she closed her eyes, breathing deeply to calm her racing heart.  The last thing she needed at that moment was an akuma, especially one aiming for her.

She sank down into her classroom seat a few short minutes later, focused mostly on her breathing, but noticeably much calmer than she had been.  In the back of her mind, she comforted herself with the knowledge that Chat was supposed to be back the next day.

And she told herself it was just a coincidence that Adrien would as well.

* * *

That night as she sat at her desk, Marinette couldn’t stop replaying the events of the day.  It was making focusing on her homework quite difficult, and with a groan of frustration, she tossed her pencil onto the desktop in front of her and covered her face with her hands.

The knowledge that Chat would be back soon played on repeat in her head.

The knowledge that Adrien would be back on the same day as Chat hummed on a slightly less overwhelming frequency.

To distract herself, she picked up her sketchbook and a drawing pencil and curled up on the chaise, but all that appeared on the page were doodles of little black cats with belled collars, jumping, rolling, and batting at butterflies.

With an exasperated sigh, she set the book down and looked around her room as if searching for a distraction, but nothing caught her attention.

Just then, a familiar thud sounded overhead.  Seconds later, the hatch in her ceiling lifted, revealing a blond mop of hair falling over bright green eyes, and below, a row of pearly white teeth, with a rose clasped  between them.

“Good evening,  _ purr- _ incess,” Chat purred.

He descended down the ladder, wide grin still on his face, and pulled the rose out from his teeth.  Marinette watched him as he reached the floor and walked closer, stopping a meter or so in front of her and bending at the waist, rose held out in his extended hand.

“For the beautiful lady.”

Yet even though she felt touched by the gesture, when the noirette accepted the flower, she could only muster a small, though sincere, smile.  Chat straightened once she had taken the rose, but his enthusiastic grin faltered when he noticed her underwhelming reaction.

“Marinette?”

The girl startled slightly, somehow surprised by the way it felt for him to say her name.  Most of the time, he called her princess, or any number of silly endearments he seemed to have way too much fun inventing.  It wasn’t, she recognized absent-mindedly, an unfamiliar sound, though the way he said it recalled another nerve-gratingly similar face to mind.  These thoughts dissipated like smoke when he spoke again.

“You want to tell me what’s been bothering you?”

Chat lowered himself onto the chaise beside her.  She didn’t realize it until them, but she had been staring off at nothing- the empty space somewhere to the side of him.  As the cushions underneath her shifted, however, her attention was recaptured.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

Why she asked, she couldn’t exactly say.  Perhaps she already knew. Perhaps she had a suspicion and wanted it confirmed.  Perhaps she was hoping he would give her a reason to think everything she had been obsessing over for days and days was all her own insanity.

“You’ve been looking really distracted all day.”

Marinette released a breath she didn’t realize she was holding, closing her eyes in the process.  In her chest, her heart pumped at a thousand beats a minute.

_ Just breathe. _

When she reopened her lids, the pupils of her eyes contracted in response to the sudden assault of light.  Within a few seconds, they readjusted, and she saw that Chat was sitting quite close, watching her expression.  His radioactive green eyes flitted back and forth between her own. Subconsciously, she registered the feel of his gloved hands grasping her bare ones.

“It’s really nothing.  I just... had an encounter with Lila today.  Don’t worry. It’s nothing I can’t handle.”

She gave him a sincere, though somewhat limp, smile for reassurance.  His shoulders seemed to tense as she spoke, and she wondered if he had hackles to raise.

“What do you mean an encounter?  You say it so casually. Is it... is this something that happens often?”

There was quite a bit of concern in his voice, even if she could tell he was doing his best to hide it.  Feeling a bit exasperated by the whole thing, she lifted one hand away from his grip and brought it to her forehead, sighing.

“You know Lila Rossi,” she said, lids falling closed in frustration.  The hand up around her brow fell to her lap, and she met Chat’s gaze. “She lies for attention, and to get things she wants.  But she’s had it out for me since she showed up. Most of the time, I just let her spout off whatever she wants at me, but she said some things today about..."  Marinette hesitated for a second. She could hear the thunder of her pulse in her ears as, in the back of her mind, she couldn’t stop thinking about who she could be talking to.  “My friend, Adrien. I just-” her gaze faltered, flickering off to the side when she felt that she could no longer look Chat in the eye. “I hate that she thinks she can use and manipulate people, and treat them like they’re objects.  She can insult me all she wants, but when she talks about my friends-”

“Wait wait wait wait wait wait,” Chat interjected.  Marinette stuttered abruptly to a stop. Her bluebell eyes widened, then gravitated upward to look at the man in front of her.  He seemed to take a breath, expression serious, then exhaled. “What did she say about you?” he then asked.

There was a taut intensity in his voice, making Marinette wonder how much she should say.  Several tense seconds passed where neither of them said anything. Finally, she caved.

“She just... insinuated that no one could ever want me... especially Adrien.  Not that it matters because Adrien and I aren’t-”

Her sentence was left hanging there, hovering over them like a suffocating weight- for Chat because he knew how false the statement would be, and for Marinette because she was struggling against her own intuition.  She didn’t want to acknowledge what she believed, but she didn’t want to deny what she suspected to be true.

The two of them sat there for a moment, Chat’s pupils slowly contracting into slits the longer he thought about Lila Rossi’s malevolence and hubris.  Finally, he leaned a little closer.

“Tell me everything.”

* * *

The more Marinette talked, the more enraged Chat became.  It was something almost frightening to see his anger, the quiet, oppressive atmosphere that grew around him like a cloud as she told him all the worst things Lila had ever said, done, or threatened to do to her, ending with the lunch-time episode.

At the end of it, he practically sprung out of his seat like a cat when it’s tail has been stepped on, apparently finally come to the point of emotional eruption.

“Why didn’t you tell me this before, Marinette?!” he demanded, probably in a higher volume than was reasonable for the time of the evening, but she didn’t shush him.  “She’s been doing this all this time, and I didn’t know! I could have stopped her!”

“It’s ok,” she tried instead, standing up to grasp both his arms in an attempt to calm and reassure him, then doing her best to induce him to sit again.  He complied reluctantly, jaw set so tight, she could practically hear his teeth grinding. “I’m ok. She can’t do anything to really hurt me, I swear. I’ve got everything handled, so you don’t have to worry.”

The front of Chat’s teeth bared in a growl, albeit, not one directed at Marinette.

“If I knew sooner, I would have- I can still-”

“Hey, hey.”  She squeezed his arms and leaned into his face to grab his attention.  “You need to calm down. You’re a hero, remember? I already had a Weredad- I do not need a Were _ cat _ .  I don’t know what I would do if you were akumatized.”   _ Kick your ass and save you from yourself _ , she mentally tacked on.

Chat nodded in response, eyelids falling shut as he took deep breaths in an effort to stem the negative emotions swirling inside him.

“You gotta admit,” he finally said after a minute or two, opening his eyes to look at her.  “It would be a lot easier to hunt her down and with heightened senses.”

Marinette rolled her eyes, and Chat’s face broke into a mischievous grin.

“I bet I’d look  _ hawt _ as a shape-shifting monster.”

That was enough to pull a giggle out of her.  With a titter and a sigh of relief, Marinette leaned forward, wrapping her arms around her boyfriend’s middle.

“I think we should leave the supernatural creatures to fanfiction and bad novels.”

Chat chuckled a little above her head, sending little vibrations through her body.

“Yea, I think you’re right princess.”

Comfortable silence reigned as both fell deep into their own thoughts.  Marinette’s mind inevitably flew back to the topic that had been haunting her for what felt like forever, but in reality, was less than a week.  There were secret identities to maintain, families and loved ones to protect, she told herself, and they couldn’t afford to be selfish.

But she always did struggle a little with the self-control.

“Chat,” she finally blurted, unable to hold it in any longer.

“Hmm?” he asked.

Marinette rose up to sit, deep blue eyes looking into his.

“What if, hypothetically, I think I know who you are?”

Something difficult to define ignited behind his eyes.

“I already told you, when you  _ want _ to know, I’ll be here waiting.  And until then, I will respect your boundaries.”

“What if... there are things that I haven’t told you?”

Green eyes glowed intensely, and she couldn’t look away.

“Then when you’re ready, I’ll listen.”

“And what if you... realize what it is before I’m ready?”

There was a bit of a long silence as he seemed to consider this, making Marinette squirm.

“No matter what, I will let you say it when it feels right, and I will never blame you for that.”

Marinette’s lips pursed to the side.  Deep down, it felt like they were both holding up an illusion for the sake of, what?

“So if, hypothetically,  _ you _ already knew my secret, and  _ I _ already knew your secret, then would it be stupid to keep pretending like we don’t for the sake of each other?”

The very question made her insides turn with anxiety, but she let it out anyway.

Chat didn’t answer her right away, just leaned in until their faces were so close, she could feel his breath on her lips.

“Marinette?” he asked.

“Yes?”

Geez, did she have to sound that breathless.

“Shut up.”

Her bluebell irises expanded, and she began to stammer.

“Wha- what?”

But before she could get anything further than that, his lips crashed into hers.

It was quite a convincing argument, so she let it slide, lifting up her arms to wrap around his neck and pull him down.

Gloved hands roamed her sides as her fingers entangled themselves in his blond locks.  The quick, rough meeting of lips quickly gave way to something more skillful, more pleasing.  For long moments, Marinette finally forgot, or at least ceased to think about, the weight of their identities, choosing instead to get lost in the feel of the only person she loved, and perhaps the only person she had.

Just when she felt like her lungs would burst, Chat pulled away and leaned his forehead against hers.  The two of them panted there, catching their breath.

“Princess?”

“Yes?”

“Keep your eyes closed if you don’t want to see.”

She didn’t even need to respond as a bright green light flashed all around them.  Whether she did or didn’t decide to do as he suggested, she knew he would trust her either way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it! Marichat May is finished! Thanks to all you lovely people who read, commented, and kudo'd!
> 
> Please take a moment to let me know if you like this ending, and please look out for the (numerous) other fics I'm working on! (Probably too many, I acknowledge I have a problem)
> 
> <3 Muse


	24. Are You Ready For This?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Surprise bonus chapter! How Marinette (and Adrien) deal with Lila.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Otherwise known as the Superfluous Epilogue
> 
> Ok, y'all, you got me! After a few requests for a closing of the Lila conflict, I consented to give you this super short (less than 700 words) insight into what would happen next. The only catch is it ruins the ambiguous ending I purposely left you with, where you get to decide if Marinette finds out Chat's identity (for sure) or not. If you'd rather decide that on your own or you don't care what happens to Lila, then you're perfectly fine skipping this little epilogue. Otherwise, enjoy this tiny little snippet!
> 
> <3 Muse

Marinette drew a steadying breath, then let it go.

Today was the day- the very _morning_ when this whole mess with Lila would hopefully end.

After waking up that morning to a tabloid story about Adrien Agreste secretly dating an ambassador’s daughter, even though she knew it was coming, she could sit back no longer.

She had to do something.

So she woke up earlier than usual, called Adrien, explained to him what she knew about Lila’s intention, and prepared for a confrontation.  Unsurprisingly, he was rather displeased to hear this bit of information, but was not necessarily shocked that the pathological liar would resort to such measures.

Straightening her shoulders, she stood outside the school’s exterior doors, having ducked around some nosy reports who were attempting to interview Lila- as if she would ever sincerely reject the opportunity.  She played coy for a minute or two, then pretended to reluctantly concede to a few questions, “just to set the record straight.”

From her vantage point at the top of the stairs, Marinette was simply getting ready for the show.

Right on time, Adrien’s chauffeur drove up to the curb, attracting the group of reporters like a swarm of locusts.  When he emerged from the door of the vehicle, eyes wide but absent of worry, lights flashed, and microphones were thrust into his face.  Gorilla attempted to get between the mob and him, but Lila was too quick. In the space of a second, she was clutching to the blond’s arm, and for a _fraction_ of a second, a look of disgust passed over his features, but it quickly disappeared.  She turned and smiled widely as photographers took their picture, only to be surprised a moment later when he peeled her hand off of his elbow.

“I didn’t want to have to do this, Lila, but you’ve left me no choice,” he said.

She watched, stunned, as he reached into the flap of his shirt and pulled out a paper.

“Please, in the future, stay at least 100 meters away from me at all times, or else you’ll be hearing from my father’s lawyers and the police.”

Lila gaped as he started walking toward the building, then jumped forward as if to bound toward him.

“Adrien!” she called, apparently confused.  “What’s going on?”

But before she could get very far, Gorilla stepped in her way, stopping her in her tracks.

Adrien paused, then turned.  The journalists standing around all had their cameras trained on the pair.

“Stalking me is bad enough, but when you start spreading false stories about me, I draw the line.  Especially when it affects people I care about.” There was dead silence for a moment, then he continued.  “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have my _real_ girlfriend to get to.  Goodbye.”

With a quick pivot of his heels, Adrien turned and walked up the steps, where Marinette was waiting at the top.  As soon as he summitted, he leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

“Ready for this, my lady?”

An uproar was growing below them, but she paid it no mind.  She just grinned widely.

“Absolutely.”

The both of them faced the front of the building, fingers intertwining between them, as the flashing lights and squawking girl disappeared from their periphery.  Two large, windowed doors shut behind them, leaving everything a little bit quiet and dimmer. But as their eyes adjusted, they realized the majority of the people in the courtyard were staring at them.

All was silent until:

“HOLY SHIT!”

Alya's inelegant outcry reverberated throughout the enclosed space, making Marinette stifle a snort.

Without a word of explanation, she gripped Adrien’s hand a little tighter in her own.

As if on cue, screaming reached their ears, coming from the front of the building.  Marinette and Adrien looked at each other knowingly, sharing a dry smirk.

“Are _you_ ready for this, Chaton?”

Chat’s trademark grin spread over Adrien’s features, and he lifted up his right hand, wiggling his fingers excitedly.

“Absolutely.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus bonus: because I know some of you might wonder about this
> 
>  _That Morning_  
>  “But, Adrien, you realize if we do this, then we risk the chance of Alya figuring out who you are, right?”  
> There was a pause on the other end of the line as Marinette clutched her phone tighter to her ear. She wanted to deal with Lila, but not if it meant sacrificing Chat on the altar.  
> “I know,” he finally answered, interrupting her thoughts. “And, honestly, I’m not real into the idea, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take. I mean, Alya may be a bit of a handful sometimes, but I think she’s trustworthy. And besides, we could always bullshit some excuse about you breaking up with Chat Noir, or something. She’ll probably believe it.”  
> Marinette sighed and nodded, realizing he was right.  
> “You know she’s going to become an akuma right away, right?” he pressed on, referring to Lila. “I mean, it’s pretty much a given with her. That girl is _way_ too desperate not to jump at the chance.”  
> The sound of Adrien’s chuckle as he spoke helped dissipate some of the tension in her shoulders, and she could feel them slowly relax.  
> “I know,” Marinette responded, smile clear in her voice. “And honestly, I can’t wait to have an excuse to finally punch her in the face.”  
> Adrien’s raucous laughter could be heard several streets over.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! If you liked that, please leave a kudos and/or a comment, and take a little time to check out my other fics!
> 
> <3 Muse


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